Friday’s private new home sales data was driven mainly by two newly- launched large projects, and according to real estate agency JLL:: “… while it can be said there has been an improvement in primary market activity it would be premature to say that market confidence is returning.”
Besides the top-selling Northpark Residences and Botanique at Bartley, other projects to register significant sales during April were Sims Urban Oasis (41 units at a median price of S$1,411 per sq ft), The Panorama (39 units at a median price of S$1,229 per sq ft) and Symphony Suites (29 units at a median price of S$1,042 per sq ft).
In terms of market segment, Outside Central Region (OCR) still dominated market share, accounting for 86.7 percent of April’s developer sales of private homes. Rest of Central Region (RCR) accounted for 10.1 percent while 3.2 percent of sales went to the Core Central Region (CCR).
Ong Teck Hui, National Director, Research and Consultancy at JLL, said: “Northpark Residences, being a unique development integrating retail, residential and transport connectivity, was definitely a market mover, drawing much interest.
“In this challenging market a developer who has a unique product offering also has a competitive advantage in attracting buyers. Without that, it would purely be a pricing game, which makes it much harder to compete against other projects.
“Subsequent months’ sales performance will depend on the sales progress of the large projects launched recently, and whether there will be significant fresh launches to keep the momentum going.”