Revamped private home sales continued to thrive in February as new launches drove the market forward. According to the latest data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on March 17, developers sold a total of 1,575 units (excluding executive condominiums or ECs) last month, marking a significant 45.4% increase from the 1,083 units sold in January.
Additionally, February’s year-on-year figure surpassed the number of units sold in February 2024 by over 10 times, as only 153 units were sold during that period. This also represents the highest number of units sold for the month of February in the past 13 years, since 2,417 units were sold in February 2012. Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia, attributes this strong performance to the launches of new projects in the Outside Central Region (OCR).
Including ECs, a total of 1,604 units were sold in February, reflecting a 45.3% increase from January. This brings the total number of units sold (excluding ECs) since the beginning of the year to 2,658. Comparatively, it took developers eight months to reach a similar figure last year, notes Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
According to Tay, the strong showing in February can be attributed to two major launches in the OCR: ParkTown Residence, with 1,193 units in Tampines North, and Elta, with 501 units on Clementi Avenue 1. ParkTown Residence emerged as the best-selling project for the month, selling 1,041 units at a median price of $2,363 psf, with an 87% take-up rate. The project, jointly developed by UOL Group and CapitaLand Development, was closely followed by Elta, which sold 65.1% or 326 units at a median price of $2,538 psf. Song points out that both projects are located in suburban areas with no new supply in the past five years, contributing to their strong performances.
In total, developers launched 1,694 units for sale in February, a significant 89% increase from the 896 units launched the month before. The majority of the sales were in the OCR, with 1,452 units sold, representing a staggering 92% of total new private homes sold in February, according to Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty. She adds that this marks the best performance for the OCR in over nine years, since 1,523 units were sold in July 2015.
Sales in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) made up 98 units or 6.2% of total units sold in February. The top-selling RCR project was Pinetree Hill, which sold 22 units at a median price of $2,613 psf. In the Core Central Region (CCR), only 25 units were sold, accounting for 1.6% of total sales in February. The best-performing CCR project was 19 Nassim, with five units sold at a median price of $3,372 psf, followed by four units sold at One Bernam for a median price of $2,651 psf. The 351-unit One Bernam, which launched for sale in May 2021, is now fully sold.
In terms of buyer profile, Singapore citizens continue to make up the majority of new private home buyers at 92.4%, followed by permanent residents at 6.9%, says Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia. Foreigners accounted for 11 new home purchases, including the two most expensive transactions in February – the sale of two units at 32 Gilstead for $14.47 million and $14.61 million, respectively.
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Furthermore, a record number of suburban homes were sold for over $2 million in February, with a total of 603 new private homes (including ECs) in the OCR being sold at this price range. This marks the highest number of new suburban homes sold in a single month since URA data first became available in 1995. According to Christine Sun, chief research strategist at OrangeTee Group, this figure exceeds the previous record of 512 units sold in November 2024.
Of the 603 OCR homes sold for over $2 million, 596 are non-landed homes, mainly from ParkTown Residence (397 units), Elta (145 units), and Hillock Green (16 units). Wong observes that the average unit prices of recent launches have “decoupled from the sub-market where these projects are located.” She notes that while property prices typically follow a hierarchy led by the CCR, followed by the RCR and the OCR, recent launches suggest this may no longer be the case.
For instance, Wong points out that The Collective at One Sophia, a CCR project launched in November, has sold 73 units at an average price of $2,743 psf, based on URA data as of the end of February. “This is lower than the average transacted price of units sold at Union Square Residences ($3,175 psf) in the RCR, and only slightly higher than that of The Orie ($2,734 psf), also in the RCR,” she explains.
Lee believes that the narrowing price gaps between regions may be due to various factors, including specific project details, pricing based on amenities, demand from HDB upgraders, and location on the edge of the CCR. She predicts that prices could converge even further in the coming months as new RCR projects located just off the CCR are launched, such as One Marina Gardens in Marina South and future developments on Zion Road residential sites.
The strong momentum in developer sales is expected to continue in March, fueled by recent launches such as the 477-unit Lentor Central Residences, the 188-unit Aurea, and the 760-unit Aurelle of Tampines EC. According to Marchus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, these projects have collectively sold over 1,150 units as of mid-March, ensuring a strong end to the quarter. As a result of the strong first-quarter sales, ERA has revised its projection for new private homes sold in 2025 to between 8,500 and 9,000 units, up from the previous forecast of 7,000 to 8,000 units.
Huttons’ Lee predicts that developer sales (excluding ECs) will surpass 3,200 units in the first quarter of the year, making it the highest first-quarter sales since 2021. Looking ahead to the second quarter, new launches on the horizon may include Bloomsbury Residences (358 units), One Marina Gardens (937 units), W Residences Singapore – Marina View (638 units), and Arina East Residences (107 units). However, not all projects launched in the coming months may perform equally well, according to Knight Frank’s Tay. “Homebuyer demand will largely depend on the specific location and property attributes of each specific new project launch, with some projects doing better than others,” he concludes.…