Even though the circuit breaker was extended for another month till 1 June 2020. Sales however did not stagnate. In May 2020, new sales rebounded 75.8% higher month-on-month to 487 units. The unexpected surge in demand drove developers to release more units for sale. The amazing sales continued throughout the month of June 2020 and private property prices even surprised market analysts as it recorded an increase in 2nd Quarter of 2020 as reported in the news article. 

Pent up demand drove monthly sales in June up by more than 100% to its highest ever in 2020. The strong surge in developer sales in June 2020 is not unexpected. This trend was observed in other countries as well. Many buyers were waiting on the sidelines waiting for the show galleries to be open to make their purchase. Some buyers see this relaxation of rules as a window of opportunity to buy their dream home in case measures are tightened again. 
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There could be up to 20 new launches (around 6,000 units) in 2H 2020 with Cairnhill 16 first to hit the road on 17th July, followed by Forett At Bukit Timah and Penrose. While the economy contracted by 12% in 2Q 2020, economists agreed that the worst is over and recovery is on the cards. The resilience in the market and property as an endearing asset class among investors will drive sales in the market. The market may see sales of between 8,000 and 8,500 units in 2020. 

​These projects are expected to be launched in the 2nd half of 2020:

The Landmark is located at 173 Chin Swee Road in RCR District 3 is an En Bloc development, formerly known as Landmark Tower. The Landmark is a 99-year condo project ZACD Group and MCC. 

Myra is a condo located at 11 Meyappa Chettiar Road in the RCR District 13 region. Myra is an En Bloc Freehold condo project developed by Selangor Dredging Berhad.

Forett @ Bukit Timah is a freehold condo project situated at 46 Toh Tuck Road in the RCR region of District 21. Forett @ Bukit Timah is an En Bloc condo project formerly known as Goodluck Garden developed by Qingjian Realty.

Ki Residences is a beautiful 999 year condo development (almost freehold) located in Sunset Way at the RCR region of District 21. Ki Residences is an En Bloc condo development formerly known as Brookvale Park condo, a 999-year almost freehold condo project developed by Hoi Hup and Sunway.

The Linq @ Beauty World is freehold integrated condo situated in 110-122 Bukit Timah Road at the RCR region of District 21. The Linq @ Beauty World is an En Bloc condo project formerly known as Goh & Goh Mansions developed by BBR Holdings.

The Verdale is a 99 year leasehold condo situated in 2 De Souza Ave, off Jln Jurong Kechil in the RCR region of District 21 developed by CSC Land Group and COHL.

Clavon is a beautiful 99 year leasehold condo project in Clementi Ave situated in the OCR region in District 15 developed by the reputable UOL Group and UIC.

Tedge is a beautiful freehold condo project located at 328-334 Changi Road in the OCR area of District 15. Tedge is an En Bloc condo project formerly a row of shophouses to be developed by Macly Capital.

The Ryse Residences is a beautiful fully integrated condo development with a shopping mall, supermarket, hawker centre, eateries, amenities, bus interchange and Pasir Ris MRT all conveniently situated below the residential development located in Pasir Ris Central at District 18. The Ryse Residences is a 99-year leasehold condo project developed by Allgreen and Kerry Properties.

Hyll on Holland located on 95 Holland Road in the CCR area of District 10 is an En Bloc condo development formerly known as Hollandia and The Estoril. Hyll on Holland is a freehold condo project developed by Far East Consortium Properties and Koh Brothers.


To understand why residential condo properties remain resilient even during COVID, you may read the news analysis article here.

Phoenix Villas is a 99 year leasehold condo located at 5 Phoenix Walk in the OCR area in District 23. Phoenix Villas is an En Bloc condo project formerly known as Phoenix Heights developed by OKP Holdings.

77 @ East Coast is a freehold condo at 77 Upper East Coast Road in the OCR region in District 15. 77 @ East Coast is an En Bloc condo project formerly known as Lodge 77 developed by KDC (77) Development Pte Ltd.

Peak Residence is a freehold condo situated at 333 Thomson Road in the CCR region of District 11. Peak Residence is an En Bloc condo development formerly known as Peak Court to be developed by Tuan Sing Holdings and Rich Capital Holdings.

Cairnhill 16 is a beautiful freehold condo project at 16 Cairnhill Rise in the CCR region of District 9. Cairnhill 16 is an En Bloc condo project formerly known as Cairnhill Heights developed by Tiong Seng Holdings and Ocean Sky International.

Liv @ MB is a condo project sited at 114A Arthur Road in the RCR region in District 15. Liv @ MB is an En Bloc condo project formerly known as Katong Park Towers, a 99-year condo developed by Bukit Sembawang Estates.

Peak Residence located at 333 Thomson Road in CCR District 11 is an En Bloc development, formerly known as Peak Court. Peak Residence is a freehold condo project developed by Tuan Sing Holdings and Rich Capital Holdings. 

One-North Gateway Residences is situated at One-North Gateway in the RCR District 5 region. One-North Gateway Residences is a 99-year leasehold project developed by TID Residential.


Real estate professional Kiwi Lim from Huttons Asia said "Choosing your dream home can be a headache, especially with the new challenges COVID brings". Find out how COVID may affect your decision making process when choosing your new home by reading this news article here.

Seventeen new residential projects with a total of 5,243 units will be ready for launch in the next 6 to 9 months with about three quarters of these units located in the prime or core central region, which is a significantly higher proportion than that launched in 2019. Last year, 54.7 per cent of the units launched were in the core central region. This would contribute to a higher percentage of more expensive properties being transacted in the primary market, and help support prices.

For the second quarter, prices of non-landed properties rose 0.4 per cent from the previous three months, compared with the 1 per cent drop in the previous quarter.

Giving a breakdown by region, the URA said that prices of non-landed properties in the core central region jumped 2.7 per cent in Q2, compared with the 2.2 per cent drop in the previous quarter. Prices of non-landed properties in the city fringe or rest of central region fell 1.7 per cent, compared with the 0.5 per cent fall in the previous quarter.

Prices in the suburbs or outside central region edged up 0.1 per cent, compared with the 0.4 per cent fall in the previous quarter while prices of landed properties remained unchanged in the second quarter of this year, after dipping 0.9 per cent in the first quarter.

To find out how COVID affects home buyer's decision making process when choosing their dream home, you may read the news analysis article here.

Growth areas. As Singapore continues to decentralise, there will be new employment areas - for example, Jurong Lake District, Jurong Innovation District, Woodlands Regional Centre and Punggol Digital District, with ready accessibility to/from other activity nodes and residential areas, facilitated by the Jurong Regional Line, Thomson-East Coast Line and North East Line extension.

Neighbourhoods near learning institutes such as universities often command a premium as they anchor a cluster of knowledge-driven businesses that will in turn catalyse other activities. The presence of an institute of higher learning will also have a positive impact on the profile of the residents and amenities.


Park connectors, parks and nature reserves. Proximity to nature has a positive impact on our physical, mental and emotional health. Our 150-km Round-Island-Route which integrates with the park connectors, connects natural, cultural, historical and recreational sites, thereby creating myriad opportunities for a variety of recreational activities. More residents are exercising and taking to the outdoors. Meanwhile, Singapore's population is ageing. The current median age of 42.2 years is expected to increase to 53.4 years by 2050.

It is estimated that 12.4 per cent of our population in 2019 was 65 years and above and this will grow to 22.5 per cent in 2030 and 33.3 per cent in 2050. Even as seniors place more emphasis on outdoor activities, Covid-19 has also raised the awareness of health and wellness to a new level. As such, the demand for properties located near park connectors, parks and nature reserves will increase.

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Health & wellness. This pandemic has made us rethink real estate including how space is to be used. Our homes have become our workplace, classroom, entertainment venue, exercise studio and playground. Going forward, we could find more households spending time at home.

The global trend towards a gig economy as well as more seniors working part-time is leading to a paradigm shift in the design of homes. For example, attention is now turned towards providing more light, cross ventilation, improving fresh air intake, views and creating dedicated or flexible space incorporating touchless design and technology to promote the well-being of those using the home for different activities. Indeed, the healthy building movement is gaining pace, as its role in public health becomes more apparent with practical designs that help communities lead healthy and active lifestyles both within and outside of our homes.

"I am confident the global economy, which is expected to fall into recession this year, and markets will continue to recover" says Singapore's property analyst Kiwi Lim from Huttons Asia who believes that the global economy is entering a multi-year recovery with some bumps along the way.


Private property prices increased 0.3% in 2nd Quarter of 2020 in spite of COVID pandemic. Read the news article here. 

During the "circuit breaker" partial lockdown to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, developers were able to sell some units, mainly to buyers who had already visited the show galleries earlier. Response to sales of newly completed units by developers was relatively encouraging.

​Interest centred mainly on Outside Central Region (OCR) (Figure 1) while the proportion of Singaporeans buying private residential properties increased to above 80 per cent in April and May, reflecting underlying confidence in the market.

To find out how COVID affects home buyer's decision making process when choosing their dream home, you may read the news analysis article here.

1.     Higher Construction Costs: 

The measures to keep Covid-19 transmission low in the construction sector are bound to increase costs for contractors, which they will have to bear in principle. National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said at a press conference on 16 May 2020 that construction costs will rise as a result, and all in Singapore must be prepared to bear them.

2.     Pent Up Demand:

We see a lot of pent up demand accumulating from the 1st half of this year as the usual yearly demand for properties build up during the Covid pandemic where viewings were reduced and eventually stopped during the circuit breaker period.

Huttons Asia's real estate professional Kiwi Lim said "property buyers after enduring for the first half of the year released some pent up demand when sales picked up during circuit breaker period to exceed pre-circuit breaker period sales even though buyers were not able to physically view showflats but had to buy only thru online viewings. This is unprecedented and an amazing show of strong market demand.

4.     New Singapore Permanent Residents (SPR)

Each year, we have around an estimated 30,000 new permanent residents in Singapore and these new SPRs are not eligible for BTOs and they have to wait 3 years before they can buy a HDB resale flat. Many of them are urgent to own a property and therefore chose to buy a private condo instead. This group of new SPRs this year have also been holding back their purchase due to Covid and their demand for property will accumulate to coincide with the new batch of 30,000 SPRs next year to search for their dream homes. 


5.     Many Enbloc Buyers Are Still Actively Looking

More than 10,000 millionaire households were created during the 2017 and 2018 enbloc fever. Less than half of these owners had made their move to buy properties with their new wealth derived from property. The other half is expected to make their move soon.

​6.     Developers Have Lesser Land Banks

Developers have launched around an estimated 2 / 3 of their available land banks bought during the enbloc fever and will have lesser new condo projects to launch in the next few years.


7.     Circuit Breaker Creates New Demand

Families are required to stay home during this recent Circuit Breaker period and such an extended period of being at home with the family has caused enormous friction among family members resulting in more enquiries for properties as adults decide to finally move out after procrastinating for years.

8.     Future GLS 

We are seeing a new trend for GLS sites as government now require developers to include extra ancillary works from developers when they bid for Government Land Sales (GLS) to also require developers to build roads, parks, bus interchange, community centres, etc. These will result in higher costs and take up part of the land area therefore transferring the higher cost to buyers eventually. 

If you enjoyed reading the analysis above or if you are keen to hear more from Huttons Asia's Kiwi Lim on his real estate market analysis for your asset progression, you may Whatsapp 9386 4036 to arrange for an insightful Zoom online session with him.

Real estate consultant Kiwi Lim from Huttons Asia Pte Ltd felt that most of the newly announced temporary relief measures to be implemented with immediate effect are targeted at cushioning developers from Covid-19 impact, with the following measure affecting new launch property buyers and some Singaporean  married couples, e.g.

(i) Extension of the Project Completion Period (PCP) by 6 months for residential, commercial and industrial development projects;

Buyers of buildings-under-construction (BUC) will now have a bit more time to pay their progressive payment as developers are given more time to build their projects. 


(ii) Extension of time by 6 months for the sale of the first residential property in relation to the remission of ABSD for the second residential property purchased by a Singaporean married couple.

Under the ABSD regime, a Singaporean married couple purchasing a second residential property jointly has to sell their first residential property within the specified timeline, failing which they will not be eligible for a remission of the ABSD paid on their second residential property. The specified timeline for sale of the first residential property is:

(i) 6 months after the date of purchase of the second property, if it is a completed property; or 

(ii) 6 months after the issue date of the Temporary Occupation Permit (“TOP”) or Certificate of Statutory Completion (“CSC”), whichever is the earlier, if the second property was uncompleted at the time of purchase.  

Customers of life and health insurance policies can apply to their insurer to defer premium payments for up to six months while maintaining insurance coverage. Premium deferment is available for all individual life and health insurance policies with a policy renewal or premium due date between April 1 and Sept 30. General insurance policyholders for property and vehicles may apply to their insurers for instalment payment plans while maintaining protection.
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​"Deferring payments increases future obligations and hence borrowers and policyholders should weigh their options carefully," said the MAS. Applications open on April 1 for insurers, and April 6 for banks.