Prices of private housing units fell by 0.7 percent in Q3 2014, following a 1.0 percent drop in the previous quarter, according to URA data. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of price decline.
All segments of the market saw price falls, with prices of non-landed homes in the Core Central Region (CCR) dipping by 0.8 percent, following the 1.5 percent decrease in the previous quarter. Over in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), prices declined by 0.4 percent, the same rate of decline as in the previous quarter. In the Outside Central Region (OCR), prices slid by 0.3 percent, compared to the 0.9 percent decline in the preceding quarter. Prices of landed homes dropped by 1.8 percent, more than the 1.7 percent decrease in Q2 2014.
Rentals of private homes fell by 0.8 percent in the third quarter, more than the 0.6 percent decline in the quarter before.
Launches and take-up
Developers launched 1,294 private units for sale in Q3 2014; excluding executive condominiums (ECs), lower than the 2,843 units in the previous quarter.
A total of 1,531 units excluding ECs were sold by developers in Q3, significantly lower than the 2,665 units sold in the quarter before.
No new ECs were launched for sale in the third quarter. Developers sold 162 EC units in the period compared to the 154 units in the second quarter.
Resales and sub-sales
There were 1,288 resale transactions in Q3 2014, lower than the 1,389 transactions in the previous quarter. Resale transactions accounted for 43.6 percent of all sale transactions during the three months, compared to 33 percent in the preceding quarter.
Meanwhile, there were 136 sub-sale transactions in Q3 2014, lower than the 158 transactions in Q2. Sub-sales accounted for 4.6 percent of all sale transactions in the third quarter, compared to the 3.8 percent recorded in the quarter before.
Supply in the pipeline
As at the end of Q3 2014, there was a total supply of 74,496 uncompleted private units (excluding ECs) in the pipeline, compared to 76,014 units in the preceding quarter. Of this number, 28,120 units remained unsold as at Q3. After adding the supply of 14,131 EC units, there are 88,627 units in the pipeline.
In addition, another 8,550 units (including ECs) will soon be added to the pipeline supply. These units are from Government Land Sales (GLS) sites that have been awarded to developers but are yet to be granted planning approvals, and also plots that are yet to be awarded. If these units are included, there would be about 97,180 private housing and EC units in the overall pipeline supply.
A total of 4,336 private units (including ECs) are expected to be completed in Q4 2014. Overall, 20, 852 units will be completed in 2014. Another 23,769 units (including ECs) are expected to be completed in 2015. In comparison, only 14,403 units (including ECs) were completed in 2013.
Stock and vacancy
The stock of completed private homes (excluding ECs) increased by 4,512 units in Q3 2014. Excluding ECs, the vacancy rate of completed private units remained unchanged at 7.1 percent at the end of the third quarter.
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