SINGAPORE — A total of 1,178 private homes — excluding executive condominiums (ECs) — were sold in July, the highest monthly sales total so far for 2019, according to data from the Urban Development Authority (URA) released on Thursday (Aug 15).

Boosted by more newly launched projects, the figure represented a 43.5 per cent surge from the 821 units sold in June this year — which was the best result for June in six years.

The latest figure was, however, a 31.7 per cent drop from the bumper 1,724 units sold in July last year, when sales shot up owing to eleventh-hour panic buying before property cooling measures took effect.

A total of 911 units were launched in July from five new condominium projects, compared to 670 in June.

When ECs — a hybrid of public and private housing — are included, sales in July hit 1,556, an 89.2 per cent jump from June, but a 12.4 per cent decline from a year earlier, for the same reasons.

WHAT PUSHED UP SALES IN JULY?

Seasonal effects

July sales are usually higher than June, said Mr Lee Sze Teck, director of research for property agency Huttons Asia.

That is because developers rush to release more units in July before the Hungry Ghost Festival in August when sales tend to be slow.

More buyers could also be returning to the market after the June holidays, said Ms Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy for property firm OrangeTee.

Launch of highly-anticipated projects

• Piermont Grand: The Punggol EC is the first EC to be launched in more than a year. With almost half of its 820 units sold, analysts say the strong take-up reflects pent-up demand for ECs, given their undersupply in recent years.

• One Pearl Bank: A highly-anticipated new launch given its iconic design, following the former horseshoe-shaped Pearl Bank Apartments. The take-up rate in July was 25.5 per cent, the best-selling newly launched private condominium in July with 197 units sold.

Continued demand

Analysts say previously launched projects continued to do well.

• Treasure at Tampines: An additional 119 units sold in July, bringing up the total take-up rate to 95.2 per cent.

• The Florence Residences: An additional 112 units sold, with about 81.5 per cent of total units sold.

Property consultancy JLL’s head of research and consultancy Tay Huey Ying said that the demand for these projects was driven largely by affordable pricing.

Foreign buyers

One analyst attributed July’s rise to foreign buyers streaming back into the market.

According to Ms Sun, data from URA showed that 82 units out of all non-landed new private home sales — which amount to about 7.1 per cent — were bought by foreigners, higher than the one-year average of 39 units.

Foreign buyers have also bought pricier homes this year, said Ms Sun.

Out of the 311 non-landed new private properties bought by foreigners over the first seven months of 2019, 27 per cent of these homes were above S$3 million — the highest percentage since 2007.

“The growing global economic uncertainties may see more investors parking their funds here as Singapore’s property market is known to be a safe and stable haven for capital preservation and appreciation,” she said.

WHAT ARE THE PROJECTIONS FOR AUGUST AND BEYOND?

Short-term projections:

Analysts expect sales to dip in August due to the Hungry Ghost Month, before picking up again from September onwards.

With about 5,400 private homes, excluding ECs, already sold over the first seven months of this year, they projected the total number of sales for the whole year to be between 7,000 and 9,000.

Long-term projections:

Some analysts were concerned about how Singapore’s property market would fare in the mid-to-longer term with the economy slowing down.

Based on current figures, analysts said that the property market here has been resilient and sales momentum is likely to continue due to the strong underlying demand for homes.

However, Mr Desmond Sim, head of research for South-east Asia at property consultancy CBRE, expects downward pressure “when the impact of the weaker macroeconomic environment settles in, and when developers are compelled to reduce prices as their sell-by deadlines approach”.

With property prices likely to track closely Singapore’s economic growth, which is now expected to come in between 0 and 1 per cent, Ms Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at real estate consultancy Colliers International, expects home prices this year to go up by 1 per cent for the full year.

Prices so far have risen 0.8 per cent over the first two quarters of 2019.