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Private New Home Sales Provides A Measure Of Relief Under Current Circumstances.

Latest Property Real Estate News - Published on 24/04/2020

Private New Home Sales

Chief Executive Officer of PropNex Realty, Mr Ismail Gafoor highlighted that “Despite a traditional slower pace in the first quarter, private new home sales performed exceptionally well. A 16.9% (y-o-y) increment as compared to the same time period in 2019. Buyers and investors were willing to commit in the first quarter due to the attractiveness of new project launches and the desirability of rightly priced developments that were previously launched. Notably, Projects such as The M (selling 381 Units), Treasure at Tampines (selling 216 units), Jadescape (selling 173 units) and Parc Esta (selling 159 units).”

With regards to Unsold Units, Mr.Ismail shared that “Initially, there was a surge in the number of unsold units due to a huge number of successful enbloc sales and GLS. Thereafter, with a strong take-up rate, the number of unsold units have experienced a periodic decline over the last few quarters. It has reduced from 36,839 units in 1Q2019 to 29,149 in 1Q2020 units. A 3.4% (q-o-q) decline. Despite an expected slowdown, we are hopeful that the unsold units will be continued to be absorbed in the next 3 to 4 years.”

For the months ahead, Mr. Ismail stated that “Despite the sales performance of the private new homes in the first quarter, we can expect a contraction in the second quarter. This follows after the extension of the circuit breaker measures to June 1st and the closure of all show flats. With that being said, we are optimistic that projects that are rightly priced will continue to move in the coming months. We are projecting a sales volume in the range of 7,000 to 7,500 units for the entire year. A 24% to 29% drop in private new home sales volume as opposed to the 9,912 units sold in 2019.”

Private Resale Volume

Mr. Ismail mentioned that “Typically, the first quarter of the year will experience a slower start as a result of the festive period and CNY holidays. Hence, the dip of 11.2% (q-o-q) from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020 is not surprising. However, it is encouraging to observe rise in the volume of transactions on year on year basis, with a 11.9% increase. An indication of a relatively stable resale market.”

Moving forward, Mr. Ismail shared his views on the state of the Private Resale Market:
“The resale market felt the brunt of the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic. With many existing owners having decided to postpone their decision on selling, as they are not comfortable in inviting potential buyers to their homes. We are anticipating the private resale volume to be in the range of 6,500 to 7,000 units. A 22% to 27% drop in the resale volume as compared to 8,949 units sold in 2019.”

Private Home Prices


With regards to Private Home Prices, Mr. Ismail stated that “The underlying global market sentiments and the ongoing Covid-19 situation had a spillover effect on the real estate market, leading to a price correction of -1.0%. This can be attributed to current market conditions favoring willing buyers as compared to cautious sellers and developers who are compelled to adjust their pricing to remain attractive. As such, we are expecting prices to drop in the tune of 3%.”

PUBLIC HOUSING: HDB Resale Volume

Mr.Ismail stated that “Generally, the first quarter of the year experiences a slower start from the post-seasonal break and CNY festivities. Nevertheless, there has been a 21.9% (y-o-y) increase as compared to 2019, when there were 4,835 HDB resale flats transacted.

In relation to the coming months, Mr.ismail expressed that “The overall demand for HDB resale flats has been on a positive trajectory since 2014. Growing from 17,318 flats in 2014 to 23,714 HDB resale flats being transacted in 2019. Currently, with the presence of Covid-19, we are projecting overall HDB resale volume to be in the range of 21,000 to 22,000. An expected drop of 7% to 11% as compared to the 23,714 HDB resale flats transacted in 2019.”

PUBLIC HOUSING: HDB Resale Prices
In terms of prices, Mr.Ismail stated “Since 2013, the HDB resale price index had been on a negative price movement. Eventually, after 6 years, the overall HDB resale prices experienced a modest growth of 0.1% in 2019. With the first quarter of 2020 having a price change of 0.0% and the lingering pandemic situation, we are expecting overall HDB resale prices to be likely limited to not more than 1% for the whole year.”