Excluding executive condo (EC) residential units, developers in Singapore sold 718 units in March last month, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data released on 15 April - Monday.
This was 4.7 times or more than quadruple of the 149 units sold in February. Of the 718 private residential condo units sold last month, 47 of these private residential condos were in the prime location or Core Central Region (CCR) while 66 private residential new condos were in the city fringe or Rest of Central Region (RCR) and the remaining 605 private residential new condo units were in the suburbs or Outside Central Region (OCR) based on data by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). New private home sales, excluding executive condominium units (ECs), also hit their highest level in four months.
"If we compare last month's March figures with last year's March developer sales of 492 private residential condo units, there is a rise of 45.9 per cent - year on year, but were 13.6 per cent lower than the five-year average of 831 units for the month of March" said Kiwi Lim from the largest listed real estate agency in Singapore - Propnex Realty. "this is not surprising because home buyers are more cautious and selective now due to various factors such as economic uncertainty like job security, higher interest rates, cooling measures and higher living costs due to inflation, etc."
The number of new private residential condo units sold in March pushed first quarter of the year sales to 1,175 units. Lentor Mansion accounted for the bulk of March sales as 409 units were sold out of the total 533 units in the whole development at a median price of S$2,269 per square foot (psf) while the second top-selling project in March - Lentoria, saw buyers snapping up 60 of its new condo units at a median price of around S$2,129 psf. Two of the new launches during the month were boutique developments Ardor Residence and Koon Seng House which sold 1 and 2 units respectively.
Outside Central Region (OCR) is still the hottest
Owing to the launch of Lentoria and Lentor Mansion, along with sales at a clutch of projects in the Outside Central Region (OCR), this sub-market led developers’ sales in March, and it accounted for an overwhelming 84% or 605 units (ex. EC) of the month’s transactions – up sharply from 58 units sold in February. The other OCR projects that had helped to boost sales included The Botany at Diary Farm that shifted 33 units at a median price of $2,030 psf, Lentor Hills Residences which sold 29 units at a median price of $2,114 psf, Hillhaven which moved 16 units at a median price of $2,074 psf, The Myst which sold 13 units at a median price of $1,996 psf, and Hillock Green where 12 units were sold at a median price of $2,168 psf. Of note, Ki Residences at Brookvale sold its last three units in March, and the 660-unit project is now fully sold, based on the URA data.
Core Central Region (CCR) & Rest of Central Region (RCR)
The Core Central Region (CCR) also saw higher developers’ sales from February to March, with 47 units transacted in the month – up from 34 units sold in February. Watten House was the star performer in the CCR with 12 transactions at a median price of $3,255 psf, followed by 19 Nassim which sold 11 units at a median price of $3,304 psf. Since the preview sales in November 2023, Watten House has now sold 134 (74%) out of its 180 units. Meanwhile, Pullman Residences Newton and Leedon Green are completely sold out, following units transacted in March.
Over in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), developers sold 66 new units in March, marking an 8% increase from the 61 units transacted in the previous month. Grand Dunman and The Continuum were the most popular RCR projects in March, each selling 11 units at a median price of $2,474 psf and $2,786 psf respectively. They were followed by Pinetree Hill which sold 10 units, and The Landmark where 9 units changed hands. Meanwhile, new launches Koon Seng House transacted 2 units at a median price of $2,357 psf, while Ardor Residence sold 1 unit at $2,465 psf.
Executive Condo (EC) Market
In the EC segment, new sales jumped from 34 units in February to 114 units in March, thanks to sales at Lumina Grand EC, which sold 86 new units at a median price of $1,528 psf. The 512-unit Lumina Grand – which is expected to be the only EC project launch in 2024 – is 72% (370 units) sold as at end-March. The number of unsold ECs remains tight at 358 units, with most of the units at North Gaia and Lumina Grand. The strong take-up rate for Lumina Grand reflects the keen interest among first-time buyers and HDB upgraders for well-located and thoughtfully designed properties.
Developers placed a total of 877 new units (ex. EC) for sale in March – up markedly from the 45 units (ex. EC) released for sale in the previous month. This is the highest number of units launched for sale by developers since 970 units came on in November 2023.
Executive condominiums caters to a unique group of buyers, offering a public-private housing hybrid of HDB flats and private condominiums. These apartments are a sought-after option for the “sandwich class”- those who earn too much to qualify for HDB flats yet are priced out of private condominium markets.
New Condo Projects to Launch in April
Three new projects are expected to hit the market this month in April, being the 142-unit The Hill @ One-North and two boutique developments The Hillshore (59 units) and 32 Gilstead (14 units). Luxury project 32 Gilstead has been launched for sales booking on 15 April.
The Hillshore and The Hill @ One-North – both in District 5 in the RCR – will be launched for sale this coming weekend (20 April). With April’s new launches offering fewer units, we anticipate that developers’ sales could likely underperform March’s new home sales volume.
The Hill @ One-North will be the latest project to be launched in the one-north precinct, following Blossoms by the Park which sold more than 70% of its 275 units when it hit the market in April 2023. As at end-March 2024, Blossoms by the Park is about 88% (241 units) sold, according to URA’s data. Going by the positive response to Blossoms by the Park, we expect The Hill @ One-North to attract interest from home buyers.