Singapore private home sales surge in November

Home builders put more units on the market months after introduction of cooling measures

Singapore developers sold 1,198 private homes minus executive condominiums (EC) in November, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) reported Monday.

The figure marks the highest sales since July and is an improvement over the 788 units sold in the same month last year and the 487 units sold in October 2018.

With EC included, a total of 1,202 units were sold in November, compared with 937 units in November 2017 and 510 units in October 2018.

Around 1,341 units were launched in November, up from 202 units in October.

In July, housing authorities introduced Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates and tightened loan-to-value limits on residential property purchases. New launches were deferred in the months after the announcement of the cooling measures as developers grew apprehensive over their effects on buyer sentiment.

Total sales in 2018 could fall short of last year’s figures, predicted real estate agency PropNex. Singapore is expected to cap the year with sales of anywhere between 9,300 and 9,500 units, down from the 10,566 units recorded in 2017.

Citing lower demand for plots from developers due to cooling measures, the URA has lowered the number of sites it will be releasing as land supply for private housing in the first half of 2019.