The top 10 best-selling residential projects in Singapore in February

Home sales declined 27.2% month-on-month to 490 units during the month.

The fall in Singapore's private new home sales could be attributed to the Chinese New Year festivities, the absence of major new launches, and the declining stock of unsold new homes. 

According to caveats lodged in Realis (up to 27th February 2022), developers sold 490 new private homes (ex. ECs) in February 2022 – down by 27.2% from the 673 new units transacted in January 2022. When compared to a year ago, sales fell by 24% from the 645 units shifted in February 2021.

PropNex Realty's Head of Research & Content Wong Siew Ying says the 32-unit Royal Hallmark was the only new project that was put on the market in February. The boutique freehold development which is located in District 15, in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) sold 10 units during its launch weekend on 26 February.

Here' more from PropNex:

Based on the sales of 490 units, the RCR dominated new home sales in February, selling 253 units or 51.6% of the monthly total. Within RCR, Normanton Park led sales, transacting 84 units at a median unit price of $1,853 psf (see Table 1). Meanwhile, 144 new private homes changed hands in the Outside Central Region (OCR); Dairy Farm Residences was the top seller in OCR with 30 transactions at a median price of $1,715 psf. The sales volume recorded in the OCR in February 2022 was one of the weakest transaction volumes that this sub-market had seen since April 2020, when the circuit breaker measures were imposed.

In our view, the slowdown in February’s sales is largely due to the lack of major launches and the fast depleting unsold inventory in the suburbs, and to some extent in the city fringe as well. As at the end of Q4 2021, the unsold inventory in the RCR and OCR were both at record lows of 4,306 and 3,972 units respectively. As more units in existing projects are transacted, buyers may find that the balance stock of unsold homes may not be suitable for them, in terms of unit size and pricing. This mismatch could persist and likely weigh on sales volume until more RCR and OCR launches come on stream, presenting buyers with a wider selection of units.

In the prime Core Central Region (CCR), new home sales fell to a one-year low with 93 units sold in February 2022. Leedon Green was the most popular CCR project during the month - transacting 14 units at a median price of $2,838 psf. The cooling measures introduced in December 2021 could have dampened sales in the CCR, as this sub-market tends to attract investors and foreign buyers, who are more severely affected by the hike in additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) rates.

Despite the sharp fall in sales volumes, prices appear to be holding up for now. Comparing transacted values in February 2022 against December 2021, the average unit prices of RCR and OCR non-landed private new homes remained steady, while that of CCR homes dipped by 2.6%, according to caveats lodged. 

As we are not expecting many new launches in March 2022, home sales could remain relatively muted. Certainly, we anticipate a significant year-on-year decline in sales given the high base in March 2021, where 1,296 new private homes were sold.