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18-12-2012, 10:07 AM
But don't worry, prices will still trend up..... 
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Dec 18, 2012
New private home sales slide by 44%
Just 1,087 units sold last month amid slow holiday season, cautious mood
By Esther Teo Property Reporter
HOME buyers purchased just 1,087 new private units last month - the lowest figure this year - as the school holidays and festive season dampened sales.
The figure is 44 per cent lower than the 1,948 units sold in October, as the sixth round of cooling measures introduced in early October also took a toll on buying momentum and market sentiment.
Including executive condominiums (ECs), developers sold 1,266 homes, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday.
Experts say developers turned cautious and held back launches last month, as they assessed the impact of the cooling measures on demand before deciding whether to push out new projects.
Only 773 homes were launched for sale last month, well down on the average monthly launch of 1,987 units in the first 10 months of the year.
Home buyers could also have hit the brakes as the subdued global economic outlook next year affected buying sentiment.
Concerns also remain over the "fiscal cliff" in the United States and the debt crisis in Europe. These are likely to drag down growth next year should the situation worsen, cautioned Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of training, research and consultancy at Dennis Wee Group.
Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, said that some developers could be keeping their launches for next year instead, as the end of the year is a traditionally slow period owing to the holiday season.
South-east Asia research head Chua Yang Liang at Jones Lang LaSalle noted, however, that the caps in loan terms imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore have also begun working through the property market.
"Anecdotal evidence of developers offering discounts on their unsold units in the past month seems to indicate that the slowdown in sales is not due to just the year-end seasonality."
But PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said that even as transaction volume dips, prices are not expected to drop drastically. He expects the market to pick up in the first quarter of next year as a string of launches enter the market.
Some of these include Sennett Residences in Potong Pasir, Urban Vista in Tanah Merah, Qbay in Tampines, Duo in Ophir Road and a condominium project in Jalan Lempeng.
Still, even with last month's low figure, the property market is headed for a banner year.
Already, an impressive 20,879 new private homes have been sold in the first 11 months of the year - easily eclipsing the record 16,292 units sold in 2010.
Suburban homes have led the charge, making up 65 per cent of all homes sold last month. There were 209 homes sold in the city centre and 167 homes sold in the city fringe region, URA said.
New private home sales for the year are easily expected to surpass the 21,000-unit mark, even though December is a traditionally slower month.
Echelon at Alexandra View previewed recently and Forestville EC in Woodlands will begin online applications this weekend, noted Mr Joseph Tan, CBRE's executive director of residential.
"Home prices are likely to remain stable with a marginal upside for projects with good access and strong attributes," he added.
November's top-selling projects include Eco Sanctuary in Chestnut Avenue with 140 units sold at a median price of $1,050 per sq ft (psf), d'Leedon in district 10 with 133 units sold at $1,431 psf, and Riversails in Upper Serangoon where 81 units were snapped up at $858 psf.
esthert@sph.com.sg
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Dec 18, 2012
New private home sales slide by 44%
Just 1,087 units sold last month amid slow holiday season, cautious mood
By Esther Teo Property Reporter
HOME buyers purchased just 1,087 new private units last month - the lowest figure this year - as the school holidays and festive season dampened sales.
The figure is 44 per cent lower than the 1,948 units sold in October, as the sixth round of cooling measures introduced in early October also took a toll on buying momentum and market sentiment.
Including executive condominiums (ECs), developers sold 1,266 homes, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday.
Experts say developers turned cautious and held back launches last month, as they assessed the impact of the cooling measures on demand before deciding whether to push out new projects.
Only 773 homes were launched for sale last month, well down on the average monthly launch of 1,987 units in the first 10 months of the year.
Home buyers could also have hit the brakes as the subdued global economic outlook next year affected buying sentiment.
Concerns also remain over the "fiscal cliff" in the United States and the debt crisis in Europe. These are likely to drag down growth next year should the situation worsen, cautioned Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of training, research and consultancy at Dennis Wee Group.
Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, said that some developers could be keeping their launches for next year instead, as the end of the year is a traditionally slow period owing to the holiday season.
South-east Asia research head Chua Yang Liang at Jones Lang LaSalle noted, however, that the caps in loan terms imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore have also begun working through the property market.
"Anecdotal evidence of developers offering discounts on their unsold units in the past month seems to indicate that the slowdown in sales is not due to just the year-end seasonality."
But PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said that even as transaction volume dips, prices are not expected to drop drastically. He expects the market to pick up in the first quarter of next year as a string of launches enter the market.
Some of these include Sennett Residences in Potong Pasir, Urban Vista in Tanah Merah, Qbay in Tampines, Duo in Ophir Road and a condominium project in Jalan Lempeng.
Still, even with last month's low figure, the property market is headed for a banner year.
Already, an impressive 20,879 new private homes have been sold in the first 11 months of the year - easily eclipsing the record 16,292 units sold in 2010.
Suburban homes have led the charge, making up 65 per cent of all homes sold last month. There were 209 homes sold in the city centre and 167 homes sold in the city fringe region, URA said.
New private home sales for the year are easily expected to surpass the 21,000-unit mark, even though December is a traditionally slower month.
Echelon at Alexandra View previewed recently and Forestville EC in Woodlands will begin online applications this weekend, noted Mr Joseph Tan, CBRE's executive director of residential.
"Home prices are likely to remain stable with a marginal upside for projects with good access and strong attributes," he added.
November's top-selling projects include Eco Sanctuary in Chestnut Avenue with 140 units sold at a median price of $1,050 per sq ft (psf), d'Leedon in district 10 with 133 units sold at $1,431 psf, and Riversails in Upper Serangoon where 81 units were snapped up at $858 psf.
esthert@sph.com.sg
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