(B) Performance of Private Property Segment
(B.1) Private home prices up but at slower rate and pathetic volume
The URA has announced the flash estimate of the real estate market performance in the first quarter of 2008. The advanced price index for private homes in Singapore rose a meek 4.2% over the preceding quarter – 2.6% lower than the 6.8% quarter-on-quarter rise registered in the final quarter of 2007. In other words, price growth has slowed down for the first quarter of 2008. As for the three individual geographical regions, the price growth was as follows:
Table [1] – Price growth in the first quarter of 2008 – by regions
Regions |
Price growth of non-landed private homes Q-on-Q |
Core Central Region (CCR) |
4.4% (previous quarter growth 7.5%) |
Rest of Central Region (RCR) |
3.9% (previous quarter growth 7.7%) |
Outside Central Region (OCR) |
4.8% (previous quarter growth 7.0%) |
About 64,900 private residential units are in the pipeline, of which about 56,100 new private housing units are expected to be completed between 2008 and 2011. Out of the 56,100 new homes, about 38,300 units or 59% have not been sold by developers yet. This may impact the price if demand remains weak over the next few months.
(B.2) Performance of primary home sale in February and March 2008
Only 188 new home units were sold in February 2008 and 319 units in March 2008. The total new home sale figure for the first quarter was 791 units – lower than the 894 units sold in the fourth quarter of 1997 when the Asian currency crisis reached its height. In other words, the first quarter primary home sale figure had plunged to a crisis proportion. Here are the details:
Table [2] – New homes launched and Sold in the February 2008 – by regions
Regions |
No. of units sold in February |
No. of units launched in February 2008 |
Core Central Region (CCR) |
27 |
32 |
Rest of Central Region (RCR) |
47 |
107 |
Outside Central Region (OCR) |
45 |
179 |
Total |
119 (37.42%) |
318 |
Another 69 new home units were sold in other projects launched earlier, boosting the total number of new transactions to 188. Below shows the detailed breakdown of the units sold in March 2008.
Table [2A] – New homes launched and Sold in the March 2008 – by regions
Regions |
No. of units sold in March |
No. of units launched in March 2008 |
Core Central Region (CCR) |
13 |
108 |
Rest of Central Region (RCR) |
57 |
136 |
Outside Central Region (OCR) |
73 |
394 |
Total |
143 (22.41%) |
635 |
Besides those units sold at the new projects launched in March 2008, 176 other new units were sold in projects that had been launched earlier, bringing the total new home sale in March 2008 to 319.
While the aggregate sale figure in March 2008 may be higher at 319 (143 units from projects launched in March and 176 units from projects launched earlier), it is far cry from the unsold inventory. For example, in February 2008, 119 units were sold but 199 remained unsold after being launched; and in March 2008, 143 units were sold but 492 units remained unsold after being launched that month.
As the number of unsold units mounts, the salespersons at the show-flats have to endure longer waiting time; while buyers take their time to ‘pick and choose’ the best ‘discount package’ that the developers are showering them with.
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