SLUMP IN JUNE NEW HOME SALES

SLUMP IN JUNE NEW HOME SALES
Jul 15, 2014

Sales of new private homes in Singapore including executive condominiums declined by more than 65 percent to 531 units after reaching 1,528 units in May, according to data published today by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The best-selling project by number of units sold in June – for the second-month running - was Coco Palms which sold 55 units at a median average price of $1,014 per sq ft.

The most expensive property sold in June based on median per sq ft pricing came from The Laurels in Cairnhill Road which transacted one units at $2,810 per sq ft.

Singapore witnessed an almost doubling of private new home sales during May, recording 1,528 units versus a mere 797 units during April – including executive condominiums.

A total of 4,798 new private homes, including executive condominiums, have been sold during the first six months of the year, according to data from URA. The first six months of last year saw a total of 11,868 units transacted according to the same data source.

Also in contrast to this month’s figures June 2013 saw a total of 2,119 private homes sold, including executive condominiums.

Last week Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam expressed his opinion that there will not be a property market crash although he added that a further correction would not be unexpected.

In recent months various government spokespeople have said it’s too early to relax any of the cooling measures that it began to implement In 2009 to control the red-hot real estate market in the city-state.

According to URA, prices as well as the number of units sold during the month are based on the Option to Purchase (OTP) issued by developers to buyers.

An OTP is a right or option given by the vendor to an intending purchaser to buy the property at a specified price within a specified period of time - the validity period of the option. The intending purchaser must pay a booking fee of between 5 – 10 percent of the agreed price for this right or option. The purchaser has to exercise the OTP within its validity period if he decides to buy the property.

Info courtesy - PropertyGuru.com.sg