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New private home sales down in Feb

Wednesday 16 March 2011

SINGAPORE - Sales of new private homes moderated in February but the total still came in above the key 1,000-unit level.

Data released yesterday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed that 1,101 private homes were sold last month, down from 1,209 in January. Including executive condominiums (EC), the total number would be 1,228.

Chalking up the best sales was Waterfront Isle at Bedok Reservoir Road, where 282 units were snapped up at a median price of S$997 per sq ft. The best selling EC was Austville Residences at Sengkang East Avenue, where 63 units were taken up at a median price of S$721 psf.

Meanwhile, the most expensive property sold last month was at Tomlinson Heights at Tomlinson Road, where one unit was sold at S$3,277 psf.

The suburban region saw the most sales, with 737 units sold, while the city fringe areas saw 223 units taken up. The central region saw the least sales of only 141 units.

A total of 1,710 units were launched last month, an increase of 464 units from the previous month. Analysts said the spike was due to more launches by property developers after the Chinese New Year holidays.

The figures for last month provided the first indication of market response to the fourth round of property cooling measures announced on Jan 14.

Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research & advisory at Colliers International, said: "The fact that sales volume stayed above the healthy level of 1,000 units in February even when the full impact of the cooling measures would likely have set in is an indication of the resilience of the market against the latest set of cooling measures."

However, Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of research & consultancy at SLP International Property Consultants, said: "It could be increasingly challenging to keep the monthly sales figures at above the 1,000-unit level in the next few months as the government measures continue to weigh on the market."

Source: Today