Developers sold 673 new private homes (excluding executive condos) in January 2022, up by 3.5% from 650 units transacted in the previous month. January’s sales performance is quite respectable and indicative of a healthy underlying demand in the market, considering that there were limited new launches, the seasonal lull leading up to the Lunar New Year, as well as fresh property curbs having been introduced in December 2021.

Other positive take-aways include the fairly decent sales in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR), as well as the good take-up at Belgravia Ace during its launch – which reflected strong demand from Singaporeans and ample liquidity in the market, with 77 units sold for more than $4 million each.
On a year-on-year basis, new home sales were down by 58.8% from the 1,633 units shifted in January 2021. The sharp year-on-year decline was due to more major projects being launched in January 2021 – such as the 1,862-unit Normanton Park and 429-unit The Reef at King’s Dock – which had boosted home sales then. The RCR led sales in January 2022, transacting 289 new homes – as Normanton Park emerged as the best-selling private residential project last month, with 94 units sold (at a median price of $1,841 psf).

Given the lack of RCR launches, buyers picked up units at previously-launched projects, including The Woodleigh Residences, Amber Park, Verdale and CanningHill Piers which helped to lift RCR sales in January.

This was followed by the OCR, the only submarket that posted a month-on-month increase in sales in January 2022. Developers sold 275 new units in the month – new launch Belgravia Ace accounted for more than a quarter of OCR sales with 77 units transacted at a median price of $1,080 psf. Buyers paid between $4.1 million and $4.6 million for homes at Belgravia Ace, according to Realis caveats.

Sales in the Core Central Region (CCR) booked a sharper 18.7% decline from December to January with 109 units sold – the lowest monthly CCR sales since February 2021, where 58 units were sold. Fourth Avenue Residences was the best-selling CCR project in January 2022, moving 13 units at a median price of $2,481 psf. The sales decline in the CCR in January may be an early indication of the impact of fresh cooling measures – particularly the hike in additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) rates for foreign buyers and investors buying second and subsequent residential properties – possibly crimping foreign buying interest and investment demand. The limited new launches in the CCR may also have contributed to the slower sales. In terms of units launched, developers placed 178 new private homes (ex. EC) on the market in January 2022, representing a 53.5% decline from 383 units launched in December 2021.

This is the lowest number of units launched since the 167 new units that were launched in February 2021. Only two new projects were put on the market in January 2022 – 107-unit strata-landed project Belgravia Ace in the OCR and a 16-unit boutique development, Ikigai in the CCR. Based on Realis caveats, foreigners and Singapore permanent residents (PRs) accounted for 4.2% and 10% of the new private home sales in January 2022 respectively.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans bought 85.9% of the private new homes sold in January 2022, growing slightly from December 2021, where 83% of new homes were bought by Singaporeans (see Table 1). In the coming months, Singaporeans are expected to account for the bulk of the purchases, as demand from foreigners and property investors may moderate due to the increased ABSD rates.

Outlook

Looking at historical trends, the sales performance in January 2022 provides some assurance that demand for new private homes has perhaps not been significantly dented by the recent property cooling measures. It is the highest private home sales for the month of January since 2014, with the exception of January 2021 (1,633 units; see Table 2), where sales were largely boosted by the launch of mega development Normanton Park then.
Looking ahead to the next few months, sales should remain relatively stable.

PropNex does not expect developers’ sales to rise dramatically owing to the limited number of new launches and their relatively small project sizes. The 32-unit Royal Hallmark in Haig Road could hit the market in the end of February, while 105-unit The Arden in Phoenix Road may be launched in March. Meanwhile, North Gaia EC is also expected to be launched for sale in March. These new launches should attract buyers’ interest given the dwindling stock of unsold new private homes in the RCR and OCR.