This market sentiment together with a surge of new launches probably pushed the sales figure in March to be more than double the 303 units sold in February and the highest monthly sales since 1,655 homes changed hands in July 2015, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The figures here exclude executive condominiums (ECs).
In March 2016, developers launched 682 new private homes last month, including The Poiz Residences, Cairnhill Nine and The Wisteria - much more than February's 209 units.
CapitaLand's Cairnhill Nine, near Orchard Road, was the top performer, selling 177 units out of the 200 units launched at a median price of $2,441 psf. This was followed by Northern Resi's The Wisteria in Yishun, which sold 125 of 216 units at a median price of $1,112 psf. The Poiz Residences sold 59 units with a median price of $1,475 psf.
"Overall, developers' priced-to- sell strategy seems to have borne fruit. The rally in the stock market and an overall improved market sentiment in March have also lifted sales volume in existing launches," noted Cushman & Wakefield research director Christine Li.
The spike in transactions last month lifted private new home sales to 1,470 units in the first quarter, up from 1,379 in the same period last year, but lower than the 1,692 units sold in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Mass market homes or those in the suburban areas remained the most popular, with 461 new units sold last month, driven largely by The Wisteria. There were 210 units moved in the city centre, thanks to Cairnhill Nine, while 172 homes in the city fringes were sold.
The number of launches in the near future is expected to taper off in the coming quarters as the Government trimmed the supply of land.
- Extracted from The Straits Times on April 16, 2016, with the headline 'New private home sales hit 8-month high'.