Q1 new private home sales hit record high

SINGAPORE: The quantity of new private homes disposed within the first quarter of this year crossed the 6,600 mark – a record high, according to Singapore property analysts. Nevertheless have prices of private home sales peaked?

Riversound Residences and the Palm Isles were amongst last month’s top four selling projects, every one situated in the suburbs.

The month of March have raked in over 2,300 new private homes, a little lower than February’s 2,400.

Yet, the initial three months of 2012 have witnessed monthly sales of private units reached above 1,500 units – still considered high by many property analysts.

Whereas analysts do not see a bubble forming in the property market, they said additional cooling measures may well have a momentary effect. And the mid tier and high end market will still see correction of an estimated 15 per cent by the end of 2012, dragging overall prices by 5 per cent.

Chia Siew Chuin, director of research, Colliers, said: “When we talk about a property bubble, one has to be aware that we not only look at sales per se, but also at prices. The number of sales in this period is really supply-driven, but it is also likely to be at the expense of very little price movement we have seen in the market.”

Still, a number of analysts said developers are catering to demand, launching at least 2,000 units each month in 2012 – a number only achieved in April last year.

Chris Koh, director, Chris International, said: “The number of units being pushed out and the numbers being taken, you can see does not differ much. Like what we have shared, 2,500 units against a 2,300 take-up is actually a very healthy number.”

Different market outlook between the mass and luxury markets are expected to affect prices.

Ong Teck Hui, executive director, Credo Real Estate, said: “Where we are just talking about OCR where the volumes have been pretty strong, then the outlook for this year is fairly positive. We are likely to see a stable market with some slight upside in prices, perhaps 3-5 per cent. For CCR, in particular, the softening of prices is likely to continue.”

With the record high number of new private home units being taken up, analysts predicted that 2012 is destined to surpass last year’s sales of 16,000 units.

 

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