16-04-2011, 08:37 AM
The party rages on! The only way, I feel, for housing prices to fall and for speculation to cool is for interest rates to rise!
Apr 16, 2011
Sales of new private homes up 25%
Surprisingly robust figures for last month buck falling sales trend
By Esther Teo, Property Reporter
INVESTORS and HDB upgraders were out in force last month to drive sales of new private homes up 25 per cent to a surprisingly high 1,386 units.
Add in executive condominium (EC) sales, and the total is 1,543 units.
The March figures are the highest this year and buck the trend after three consecutive months of falling sales - but they are still below the level of five months of last year.
There were 3,701 new homes sold in the first three months of this year, 13 per cent down from the 4,241 shifted in the fourth quarter of last year.
It is also the poorest quarter for new home sales since the fourth quarter of 2009, said Dr Chua Yang Liang, the head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle South-east Asia.
The decline is possibly due to the weeding out of speculators as the cooling measures take effect, experts say.
Suburban homes were the most popular, comprising 46 per cent of the total sales last month, indicating sustained demand from HDB upgraders.
'The high (March) figures are surprising... Usually, months with greater sales are the result of many larger projects launching and selling high numbers of units,' PropNex corporate communications manager Adam Tan noted.
Experts add that last month's stronger showing is partly due to the rebound after the usual Chinese New Year slowdown in February.
But it also suggests that home buyers might have shaken off the Jan 13 cooling measures and are showing renewed interest in mid- and high-end markets.
Colliers International's analysis of the Urban Redevelopment Authority data found that city centre unit sales jumped 85 per cent, while sales on the fringe rocketed 120 per cent over February. But suburban homes sales fell 15 per cent.
Sales numbers have also been boosted by investors snapping up shoebox units - those of less than 500 sq ft.
New projects such as Devonshire Residences and SkySuites 17 have a significant number of such homes and they have seen healthy sales, said Mr Ong Teck Hui, Credo Real Estate's head of research and consultancy.
Buying interest is also broad-based across the island, with only two projects - H2O Residences and Questa@Dunman - managing sales of 100 units or more.
Last month's robust numbers have again raised the prospect of possibly more cooling measures, but most experts say that it is still too early to tell.
SLP International research head Nicholas Mak said that with prices moving up only marginally, another round of measures would not be justifiable at this time. Flash estimates showed that prices rose 2.1 per cent in the first quarter and that price rises were moderating.
He added that although HDB upgraders still make up a significant proportion of new sales, the measures have helped dampen demand. The proportion of new suburban homes sold fell from 67 per cent in February to 46 per cent last month.
Experts expect sales this month to hold steady, supported by the launch of more projects and an unexpectedly strong economic growth of 8.5 per cent in the first quarter.
Ms Tay Huey Ying, a research and advisory consultant at Colliers, added that Singapore's enlarged population and attractiveness as an investment destination could mean that monthly sales of 1,000 to 1,200 new units have become the norm.
But Mr Joseph Tan, CB Richard Ellis executive director of residential, noted that the healthy residential market in the first quarter could have fuelled developers' appetite for sites, with some land near MRT stations fetching high prices.
'With the growth forecast of 4 to 6 per cent for the economy remaining on track, we expect the take-up of new homes in the second quarter to be around 3,000 to 3,500 units and home prices to remain stable,' he said.
esthert@sph.com.sg
Apr 16, 2011
Sales of new private homes up 25%
Surprisingly robust figures for last month buck falling sales trend
By Esther Teo, Property Reporter
INVESTORS and HDB upgraders were out in force last month to drive sales of new private homes up 25 per cent to a surprisingly high 1,386 units.
Add in executive condominium (EC) sales, and the total is 1,543 units.
The March figures are the highest this year and buck the trend after three consecutive months of falling sales - but they are still below the level of five months of last year.
There were 3,701 new homes sold in the first three months of this year, 13 per cent down from the 4,241 shifted in the fourth quarter of last year.
It is also the poorest quarter for new home sales since the fourth quarter of 2009, said Dr Chua Yang Liang, the head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle South-east Asia.
The decline is possibly due to the weeding out of speculators as the cooling measures take effect, experts say.
Suburban homes were the most popular, comprising 46 per cent of the total sales last month, indicating sustained demand from HDB upgraders.
'The high (March) figures are surprising... Usually, months with greater sales are the result of many larger projects launching and selling high numbers of units,' PropNex corporate communications manager Adam Tan noted.
Experts add that last month's stronger showing is partly due to the rebound after the usual Chinese New Year slowdown in February.
But it also suggests that home buyers might have shaken off the Jan 13 cooling measures and are showing renewed interest in mid- and high-end markets.
Colliers International's analysis of the Urban Redevelopment Authority data found that city centre unit sales jumped 85 per cent, while sales on the fringe rocketed 120 per cent over February. But suburban homes sales fell 15 per cent.
Sales numbers have also been boosted by investors snapping up shoebox units - those of less than 500 sq ft.
New projects such as Devonshire Residences and SkySuites 17 have a significant number of such homes and they have seen healthy sales, said Mr Ong Teck Hui, Credo Real Estate's head of research and consultancy.
Buying interest is also broad-based across the island, with only two projects - H2O Residences and Questa@Dunman - managing sales of 100 units or more.
Last month's robust numbers have again raised the prospect of possibly more cooling measures, but most experts say that it is still too early to tell.
SLP International research head Nicholas Mak said that with prices moving up only marginally, another round of measures would not be justifiable at this time. Flash estimates showed that prices rose 2.1 per cent in the first quarter and that price rises were moderating.
He added that although HDB upgraders still make up a significant proportion of new sales, the measures have helped dampen demand. The proportion of new suburban homes sold fell from 67 per cent in February to 46 per cent last month.
Experts expect sales this month to hold steady, supported by the launch of more projects and an unexpectedly strong economic growth of 8.5 per cent in the first quarter.
Ms Tay Huey Ying, a research and advisory consultant at Colliers, added that Singapore's enlarged population and attractiveness as an investment destination could mean that monthly sales of 1,000 to 1,200 new units have become the norm.
But Mr Joseph Tan, CB Richard Ellis executive director of residential, noted that the healthy residential market in the first quarter could have fuelled developers' appetite for sites, with some land near MRT stations fetching high prices.
'With the growth forecast of 4 to 6 per cent for the economy remaining on track, we expect the take-up of new homes in the second quarter to be around 3,000 to 3,500 units and home prices to remain stable,' he said.
esthert@sph.com.sg