Luxury condo sales in Singapore rose by 72% in the first quarter of 2020

Despite economic uncertainties, investors still flocked to the city-state

In the first quarter of 2020, non-landed luxury homes in Singapore witnessed a 72 percent year-on-year sales of 965 units despite the uncertain economy, reported PropertyGuru Singapore, citing a report by OrangeTee & Tie.

On a quarterly basis, luxury home sales surged by 7.1 percent compared to the 901 units that were shifted in the last quarter of 2019. The report revealed that the impressive numbers for the year were linked to the new sales segment where 554 new luxury condos were sold in Q1 2020.

The median price of non-landed resale luxury homes stood at SGD2,020 (USD1,430) price per square foot, whereas non-landed new homes in the Core Central Region was priced at SGD2,540 psf in Q1.

Nevertheless, the percentage of luxury houses transacted at a lower rate quantum rose during the said quarter. To be specific, Q1 sold about 80.5 percent of homes valued below SGD3 million, which is a 73.9 percent increase from the Q4 2019.

As for the mid-tier segment, sales of non-landed homes in the Rest of Central Region dropped by 18.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q1 because of the outbreak and the lack of new launches.

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The median price of resale condos fell by 1 percent quarter-on-quarter to SGD1,834 psf, while prices of resale non-landed homes also dropped by 2.6 percent to SGD1,370 psf.

“Despite the price fall, the proportion of non-landed homes by unit size range remained similar to that of the preceding quarter. Last quarter, 532 [units] or 44.4 percent of non-landed home sales in the Rest of Central Region were below 800 square feet,” explained OrangeTee & Tie.

On the other hand, the median rate of resale mass-market condos stood firm at SGD1,042 psf in Q1. However, the median rate of new non-landed homes in the Outside Central Region dropped at 4.8 percent to SGD1,459 psf.

In Q1, sales of mass-market non-landed homes fell by 23.5 percent to 799 units, while resale non-landed homes also dropped by 16 percent to 712 units.

Nevertheless, some of the new mass-market projects recorded healthy sales. In the coming months, the report anticipates private home prices to fall by up to four percent for the entire year if the outbreak continues.

“Around 14,500 to 16,800 private homes could be transacted this year, of which new home sales may constitute around 7,500 to 8,500 units.”