New private home sales reach record-high of 1,547 in November

This was the strongest November sales in 10 years.

New private home sales, excluding Executive Condominiums (EC), soared by 69.8% to a record-high of 1,547 in November, the latest data from Urban Redevelopment Authority showed.

Last month’s figure was not only the strongest November performance in 10 years, but it also marked the highest sales since July 2021 when 1,602 units were sold, according to OrangeTee.

Including EC, new home sales increased by 53.8% month-on-month, and 99.9% year-on-year to 1,610 units in November.

OrangTee, along with other analysts, attributed the strong November performance of private home sales to the launch of the 696-unit CanningHill Piers at Clarke Quay, and the 219-unit The Commodore at Canberra Drive.

Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) said the two projects drove about half of last month sales, selling 83% and 75% of its units, respectively.

Based on C&W figures, 576 units of the CanningHill Piers were sold at a median price of $2,887 psf, while 164 units of The Commodore were sold at a median price of $1,513 psf.

PropNex said the two properties were appealing to different segments of the market, saying CanningHill Piers attracted “investors, owner-occupiers and foreigners,” whilst The Commodore wooed  “more mass-market home buyers and HDB upgraders.”

The strong sales of CannigHill Piers also have pushed the Rest of Central Region to have the biggest share of sales last month, comprising 58.8% of the total sales (excluding EC), OrangeTee said.

The Outside of Central Region and the Core Central Region meanwhile made up 29.7% and 11.5% of total sales, respectively.

By end of 2021, analysts predict that new home sales, excluding EC, will cross 13,000 units, becoming the highest number of new home transactions since 2013, when 14,948 units were transacted

Ohmyhome and C&W said the new home sales for the whole of 2021 will be the highest annual new sales figures since 2013 when 14,948 units were transacted.

CBRE Research, for its part, said it expects private home prices to rise by 6%-7% for the full year, in line with MTI’s narrowed 2021 GDP forecast of about 7%.  

Next year, PropNex said they expect new home sales could moderate between 11,000-12,000 units “amid dwindling unsold stock and a limited number of mega launches.”

OrangeTee said there will be only around 30 projects or less that will be launched for sale next year. In 2019, there were over 50 projects launched.

In terms of units, OrangeTee said around 9,000 units or less (including EC units) may be released into the market next year, which is “about 17% to 20% lower than the number of private homes launched annually in 2019 and 2020.”

“Around 9,000 to 10,500 units excluding EC new homes could be sold next year,” OrangeTee added.

Private residential prices, meanwhile, are expected to grow by about 4-6% in 2022 barring new cooling measures, according to C&W.