SINGAPORE: Sales of new private homes plunged 58 per cent compared to the month before as "circuit breaker" restrictions continue to bite.
Data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (May 15) showed developers sold 277 units - excluding executive condominiums (EC) - last month, much lower than the 660 units sold in March.
AdvertisementAdvertisementIncluding ECs, 293 units were sold in April, which is a 67.6 per cent drop from March.
In total, developers released 640 private units in April, a 10.7 per cent jump from the month before. There were no EC projects launched in April.
[h=3]READ: Singapore new private home sales plunge 12% in the first quarter as prices dip[/h]Overall in April, in the Core Central Region (CCR), 102 units were sold. A total of 77 and 98 units were sold in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) respectively.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe most popular private development in April was Kopar at Newton with 83 units moved, followed by Treasure at Tampines and Riverfront Residences in Hougang with 28 and 17 units sold respectively.
"LACKLUSTRE" APRIL SALES EXPECTED
The drop off in April reflected cautious buying during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was expected, said properly analyst Mr Ong Kah Seng.
“These lacklustre sales were well within expectations as April's meltdown abruptly suspended all property activities from April - including showflats operations which are ‘core essential activities’ for property development, traditionally significantly underpinning sales transactions,” Mr Ong said.
The circuit breaker measures introduced to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Singapore only allowed essential services, such as healthcare, transport, logistics and food and beverage (F&B), to continue.
Mr Ong said the announcement of the circuit breaker’s extension until Jun 1 “dashed hopes of quick recovery and further dampened economic and property sentiments”.
But this property lull period, suggested Mr Ong, can be used by developers to gather as many non-obligatory expressions of interest as possible from genuinely interested buyers.
He said major construction delays would increasingly drive buyers to purchase properties in completed private residential projects with unsold units.
“Completed projects will shine in sales from 2020, as developer sales of projects under construction (which are the bulk of developer sales) are facing tremendous pressure from site suspension.”
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