PRIVATE HOME SALES JUMP 29% IN APRIL
Sales of private homes jumped 23 percent month-on-month to 1,901 units in April, as developers are rolling out more property projects to ride the tide of buying momentum.
Excluding Executive Condominium (EC) units, private home sales rose 29 percent to a whopping 1,788 units sold last month.
“It is clear that homeowners and investors alike have assimilated the last cooling measures announced on 13 January,” said Adam Tan, Corporate Communications Manager at PropNex.
“This has resulted in a continuing buyer confidence that has seen steadily increasing sales since February 2011.”
The Outside Central Region (OCR ) enjoyed a 60 percent month-on-month increase in sales last month, with 1,010 units sold, the highest monthly total since November 2010.
Sales volume also continued to increase in the Core Central Region (CCR ), climbing 14 percent month-on-month to 301 units sold in April. The number of units launched also saw a 64 percent month-on-month jump to 387 units.
Meanwhile, the Rest of Central Region (RCR) was the only region that saw a slight decline in sales last month, as the number of launches was also lower in March. In total, 477 units were sold in the RCR area and 399 new units were launched, recording a take-up rate of 120 percent, the highest of all the regions.
“Despite the punitive policies in place, demand for private housing does not appear to have abated,” said Dr Chua Yang Liang, Head of Research South East Asia at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL ).
“The return of demand is underpinned by a strong economic rebound and continual growth. The low financing environment is just as guilty in supporting this new housing demand rebound.”
Li Hiaw Ho, Executive Director at CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Research, said that sales of new investment-grade homes in the prime Orchard area have also picked up, the most expensive home sold last month on a psf basis being a unit in The Orchard Residences, at S$4,799 psf.
Mr. Li also expressed that the healthy state of Singapore
“However, as the market is aware that the government is reviewing the income ceiling for public housing, there is some degree of apprehension as to how it will impact the mass market. Although interest in high-end homes has improved, we expect the sales momentum to moderate and new home sales in the second quarter will be close to the first quarter’s take-up.”
Info courtesy - PropertyGuru
