Private home sales dip 3.6% in August
Private home sales dip 3.6% in August
By Timothy Ouyang | Posted: 15 September 2011 1423 hrs
SINGAPORE: Private home sales in Singapore dipped in August compared to the previous month – with some 1,348 homes being sold. But this was just a drop of 3.6 per cent – nowhere near the 30 per cent drop that the markets were expecting.
With demand for property seen resilient, some industry watchers said private home sales could hit a new high this year.
Superstitions over the Hungry Ghosts Month did not keep investors away from the residential property market in August.
Ong Teck Hui, executive director at Credo Real Estate said: “Typically for a Ghost Month, one would have expected lower market activity in terms of sales. August was also affected by the global financial turmoil. So, given these two factors, there was an expectation for August figures to be lower.”
Donald Han, vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “We anticipated a lot of investors to run for cover. But instead, I think the number that we saw – which is about 1,348 – was very respectable, showing that the market is fairly resilient and investors continued into their buying activity.”
However, demand from upgraders in the mass market segment continued to drive the private homes market in August, despite the government raising the income ceiling for public housing flats and executive condominiums.
“I think the impact is not very substantial, if there had been any, given these strong figures that we’re seeing for August. So, this scenario is likely to continue because I think there is a fair amount of demand for mass market housing and we could see this trend carrying on for the next few months, provided nothing serious happens on the economic front,” said Mr Ong.
More than eight in 10 units sold last month were in the suburbs.
That came on the back of a jump in the number of new homes, with some 1,157 units launched in August, more than double from the previous month.
Still, Colliers International noted that suburban markets moderated to between S$600 and S$1,679 per square foot in August – down from between S$705 and S$1,742 per square foot in July.
“Overall property prices may compress if there is further shock to the system but otherwise it is likely to remain fairly stable,” said Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research for South East Asia at Jones Lang LaSalle.
The city fringe areas accounted for about 12.5 per cent of the units sold.
The most expensive unit sold last month was a unit at The Marq on Paterson Hill in District 9. Now, that unit fetched a price tag of some S$6,394 per square foot. Altogether, some 65 units in Singapore’s city centre were sold in August.
Some analysts noted that more than 13,000 private homes have been sold year to date, approaching last year’s record of 17,344 private homes sold.
“Moving forward in the next four months, we just have to cross about 1,000 units (per month) in order to hit, equal or come close to the kind of highs that we saw in 2010, which is not a difficult feat to achieve,” said Mr Han.
Analysts said demand for private homes is expected to be supported by continued liquidity in the market and a low interest rate environment.
Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director of research & advisory at Colliers International, said: “The current woes in the western nations could potentially channel funds into Asia, from which Singapore stands to benefit, as investors look for a safe and stable platform to accumulate and grow their investments.”
- CNA/cc
Source : Channel NewsAsia – MediaCorp Pte Ltd Copyright
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