Private home sales slow

Property buyers at the preview of the Hundred Trees condominium project located at West Coast Drive. — ST PHOTO: SHAHRIYA YAHAYA

DEVELOPERS sold 1,143 units of new, private homes in September, down from 1,804 units in August, after the Government introduced measures to prevent excessive price swings in the property market.

They launched 1,413 units in September, down from 1,613 units in August, according to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday.

Hundred Trees in West Coast Drive was the top seller, with buyers picking 327 units at a median price of $941 per sq ft. Another project that sold well was The Interlace in Alexandra Road. It sold 243 units at a median price of $1,047 psf.

Despite the continued drop in monthly sales, the units sold in September were nearly three times the 376 units sold in the same month a year ago.

Singapore’s home sales climbed to more than 13,000 in the first three quarters of the year, compared with the 4,300 sold for the whole of 2008, calculations by Bloomberg show. The increase in demand has already lifted home prices, with an index of private residential property prices surging 16 per cent last quarter.

Source : Straits Time – 15 Oct 2009