THE record-breaking sales of new private homes in May became a distant memory last month when transactions fell off a cliff as developers put out fewer projects.
Potential buyers also turned their attention to the World Cup and stayed on the sidelines due to the school holidays, market watchers said.
Developers sold only 482 units last month, down 67.6 per cent from the all-time monthly high of 1,488 recorded in May.
June's figures were the lowest since the 480 sales figure in March and brought new condo transactions for the first half to 4,466 - down 56 per cent from the same period a year ago.
If executive condominiums are included, 531 units were sold in June, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data yesterday.
May's sales were kick-started by developers putting more projects with lower prices on the market but that strategy was abandoned last month.
"Developers focused on moving units in previously launched developments, and generally avoided releasing new projects amid the June school holidays and World Cup season," said Ms Chia Siew Chuin, director of research and advisory at Colliers.
Sales at new launches tend to slow to a trickle after the initial rush, holding developers back from releasing new projects, added Mr Ong Teck Hui, national director of research and consultancy at Jones Lang LaSalle.
The 944-unit Coco Palms indicates the wild swings in the market between May and June.
The City Developments project was May's top seller with 580 units sold at a median price of $1,018 per sq ft (psf). It was the top seller again last month but attained its position this time by shifting only 55 homes at a median price of $1,014 psf.
May's numbers look an aberration given the generally flat market and a recovery is not on the cards, as any sustained sales pickup would be reined in by rules on lending, Mr Ong said.
Roxy-Pacific's 222-unit Trilive in Kovan and Wing Tai's 469-unit The Crest in Prince Charles Crescent were the only projects launched last month and made up the bulk of the 418 new homes put on the market.
Mass-market units continued to lead sales in June, with 269 shifted in the suburbs. City- fringe projects sold 167 new homes while only 46 were sold in the city centre.
"Even though the private residential market was soft, some projects still enjoyed relatively good sales if they were perceived to be attractively priced by buyers," said SLP International research head Nicholas Mak.
"Buying demand was not totally absent in the market but it had to be drawn out by attractive pricing."
Wheelock Properties' The Panorama in Ang Mo Kio was the second best seller last month after Coco Palms.
It moved 49 units at a median price of $1,287 psf with The Crest next on 35 units at a median price of $1,682 psf.
Consultants noted that home seekers will remain selective in this half of the year, with the project's location and price points as the main drivers of demand.
Ms Alice Tan, research head at Knight Frank, expects upcoming launches such as Keppel Land's The Highline Residences and World Class Land's City Gate to underpin sales in this quarter, while Mr Joseph Tan, head of residential sales at CBRE, expects the year's sales tally to come in between 8,000 and 9,000 units.
This article was first published on July 16, 2014.
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