SINGAPORE — While sales of new private homes rose in the second quarter from the same time last year, the private property resale market remained in the doldrums, real estate firm Huttons said in a report on Wednesday (July 24).

Between April and June, there were about 2,400 resale transactions, down 50 per cent from the same period a year ago, it said.

This was partly because there is a significant gap between what buyers are willing to pay in the resale market and what sellers are holding out for, it added.

“The plethora of new launches in (the second quarter) also drew away demand from the resale market,” the report said. “Nevertheless prices in the resale market held steady.”

There were 17 new launches in the second quarter.

SALE OF NEW UNITS

Developer sales rose 6 per cent in the second quarter from a year ago to an estimated 2,500 units.

“The pickup in demand shows the underlying strength of the market and a return of confidence in property as a good store of value against uncertainty and inflation in the mid to long term,” Huttons said.

In fact, the number of new units sold has been creeping up since February, it said.

The estimated average monthly sales in the second quarter of 2019 was 836 units, higher than the 613 units in the first quarter.

Average monthly sales in the first half of this year was 724 units, up from 658 in the same period last year.

MORE FOREIGNERS BUYING NEW UNITS

There was a particularly sharp jump in the number of foreigners who bought new units from April to June — up 50 per cent, from 96 in the first quarter to 145 in the second.

Boulevard 88, Marina One Residences, Park Colonial and The Tre Ver were some of the more popular projects among foreign buyers, Huttons said.

BEST SELLING PROJECTS

The five best-selling new projects were Treasure at Tampines, Amber Park, Parc Botannia, The Florence Residences and The Tre Ver.

MARKET OUTLOOK

Despite the uncertain economic outlook, there is “little reason” for property prices to decline, Huttons said. 

This is because previous declines in property prices in Singapore were all tied to an external crisis, which is unlikely in the foreseeable future, the firm added, noting that both Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat have recently said they do not expect a recession to hit the Republic. 

Private property sales this year are likely to outpace that of last year, the report said, as transaction volume in the first half of the year is already higher than that of the same period in 2018.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report stated that the estimated average monthly sales in the second quarter of 2019 was 863 units. This is incorrect. It should be 836 units. We apologise for the error.