April developer sales of private homes halved
The
Business Times | 16 May 2013
Developer sales of
private homes halved last month mainly due to a dearth of big project launches.
[SINGAPORE]
Developer sales of private homes halved last month to 1,375 units from the
record 2,793 units in March - mainly due to a dearth of big project launches.
The numbers exclude executive condos (ECs).
The
1,158 private homes that developers released last month was just a third of
March's 3,489 units. As a result, the ratio of units sold to units launched
rose from 80 per cent in March to 119 per cent in April. Primary-market sales
last month were mainly from earlier launches rather than projects released in
April itself.
Two
of the top-three selling projects last month were also the best-sellers in
March. They are Bartley Ridge (with 154 units sold in April) and D'Nest in
Pasir Ris (92 units).
Knight
Frank spotted some evidence of price reductions from its analysis of the latest
developer sales data released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Among
the top 10 housing projects last month, some units were sold at lower prices
than in March.
"For
instance," said head of consultancy and research Alice Tan, "the
median price of Bartley Ridge was 1.4 per cent lower at $1,278 psf, while that
for D'Nest in Pasir Ris was 0.4 per cent lower at $959 psf."
It
made sense for developers with existing inventories to consider reducing prices
to draw buyers, given the strong competition from an ample supply of upcoming
launches, she argues.
In
similar vein, Lee Lay Keng, DTZ head of Singapore research, noted that new
launches this year would face increased competition from the substantial
completions in 2013 and lower investment demand as a result of the higher
additional buyer's stamp duty and tighter loan-to-value ratios.
Eugene
Lim, ERA key executive officer, also warned that there was pressure for
developers to price their projects reasonably, due to the cooling measures and
increased supply. "Home buyers are expected to be choosier as they try to
find the best-value-for-money investment."
CBRE
executive director (residential) Joseph Tan said that the acceptable price
limit for 99-year leasehold suburban condos for the upgrader market is $1.5
million - depending on location and amenities. "Projects that were
launched above that level saw some resistance."
Savills
Singapore research head Alan Cheong noted that projects that were launched last
month - such as Spazio@Kovan, Midtown Residences and Sant Ritz - were much
smaller in terms of their total number of units compared with those released in
March, such as D'Nest, Bartley Ridge and Urban Vista.
Among
projects released last month itself, the chart topper was Sant Ritz in Pheng
Geck Avenue, with 104 units sold at a median price of $1,494 psf; followed by
Jade Residences in Lew Lian Vale, with 79 units sold at $1,592 psf; and Midtown
Residences in Upper Serangoon (51 units at $1,479 psf).
The
drop in developer sales last month was expected, given the exceptional numbers
clocked in March - on the back of pent-up demand from February, when both new
launches and sales dried up during the Chinese New Year festive period and
following January's cooling measures.
URA
figures released yesterday also show that developers sold 172 EC units last
month, lower than the 279 units in March.
ECs
are a public-private housing hybrid. The top sellers in April were from earlier
launches - The Topiary in Fernvale Lane, where 80 units were sold at a $714 psf
median price; and 1 Canberra in Yishun (46 units sold at $734 psf). No new EC
projects were launched last month.
In
the first four months of this year, developers sold close to 6,800 private
homes and nearly 900 EC units.
"We
foresee monthly sales volume to hover in the range of 1,500 to 2,000 units
(excluding ECs) for the next two quarters," said Knight Frank.
ERA's
Mr Lim too expects demand to stabilise in coming quarters. "Combining the
cooling measures and increasing supply, demand is anticipated to slow down,
taking into account that pent-up demand is gradually being met."
Full-year,
DTZ predicts developers will sell 15,000-18,000 private homes, a moderation
from 2012's record of 22,197 units but still above the annual sales of around
15,000-16,000 units in 2010 and 2011.
Ms
Lee said that caps on the number of units in residential developments imposed
by the authorities could also lead to a decline in shoebox unit sales by
developers, which reached a record high in 2012.
Savills's
Mr Cheong expects new homes sales to remain tepid in May. "Most projects
slated for launch this month are smallish, and the exception is probably Coral
at Keppel Bay (366 units)."
The
development is slated for release this week, at an average price of about
$2,500 psf, say sources.
Meanwhile,
resales of completed private homes remain lacklustre with 539 caveats lodged in
April.
Martin Koh | 86666
944 | R020968Z
Sherry Tang |
9844 4400 | R020241C
Senior Sales
Director
DTZ Property
Network Pte Ltd (L3007960A)
Email: marshe_inc@yahoo.com.sg