June home sales down to 847 units

Despite stronger than expected growth in GDP estimates for 2010, buying interest is seen to remain selective.

The momentum of new home sales slowed down in June as expected, Li Hiaw Ho, Executive Director, CBRE Research said in his report published by CBRE.

“Developers sold only 847 units, compared to 1,083 units and 2,208 units in May and April respectively. This translates to a total of 4,138 new homes sold in the entire second quarter of 2010, 5.5% fewer than the 4,380 units sold in the previous quarter. In total, 8,518 new homes have been sold in the first six months of the year, averaging 1,420 units per month. In comparison, the average monthly sales volume in 2009 was 1,224 units,” Li said.

429 units or about 51% of June’s sales volume were located in Outside Central Region (OCR). The Rest of Central Region (RCR) recorded 275 units sold (32%) while only 123 units (17%) of the units were located in the Core Central Region (CCR).

“The Minton at Lorong Ah Soo, a 99-year leasehold condominium which was launched in May, continued to sell well with 173 units sold in June at the median price of $871 psf. This is higher than the median price of $849 psf for first 204 units which were sold in May. Waterfront Gold at Bedok Reservoir Road was launched in June and 77 units were sold at the median price of $996 psf. This price is about 10% higher than its neighbouring project, Waterfront Keys, attributable to its relatively better view of the Bedok Reservoir. La Brisa at Lorong 28 Geylang reported 82 sales out of a total of 84 units, at the median price of $960 psf. The strengths of this project lie in its proximity to Aljunied MRT station and affordable price quantum due to the small-format units offered. Most of the units ranged from 409 sq ft to 689 sq ft,” he said.

Li added that although the volume of luxury units sold above $2,500 psf remained thin, “the price points reached in June were higher than those in May. “For example, in June, the highest price point of $4,120 psf was achieved by a unit in Nassim Park Residences, followed by a unit in Skyline @ Orchard Boulevard which was sold at $3,901 psf. In May, the highest price point of $3,641 psf was achieved by a unit in Orchard View.”

“The third quarter has started well with the strong sales seen at 368 Thomson and Terrene. Market sentiment could be improving with the latest government’s upward revision of GDP estimates for 2010 to 13% to 15% from 7% to 9% previously, due to a stronger than expected economic growth in the second quarter. However, buying interest will remain selective, depending on the location and product attributes as well as price points of new launches. Nevertheless, assuming an average monthly sales volume of 1,000 new homes, the total volume for 2010 will be around 14,000 units, in line with our forecast for the year,” Li concluded.