Condo resale prices inch up in March as demand rises 17.4%
Singapore: Prices of resales condos jumped by 0.4 percent in March. More units were sold in March, as the market rebounded from the slump that it experienced in February.
The price increase was slightly higher than the 0.2 per cent rise in February, flash data from real estate portals Singapore Real Estate Exchange and 99.co reported on April 25.
Analysts have attributed the steady rise in prices to mismatches between buyer and expectations of sellers, as well as high interest rates.
Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of content and research at real estate firm PropNex, said she observed that many sellers, although open to negotiations however, do not want to reduce their asking price substantially due to the high cost of replacing homes.
Year-to-year, condo resale prices were rising by 5 percent while those in suburbs seeing the biggest increase at 7.1 percent, figures showed.
Ms Christine Sun is the chief strategist and researcher of OrangeTee Group. She said that there were more condos constructed in suburbs over the past couple of months, which could have increased the price of resales. The new condo units were sold at a median of above $2,000 per square foot (psf), she noted.
“More homeowners are raising their asking price, as the prices of new condominiums in the suburbs are still substantially higher than (those of) Resales units” she explained.
In March, the amount of resales increased by 17.4%, with 883 units estimated to have been sold, as compared to 752 in February.
Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip attributed this to the resumption of projects in March following the Chinese New Year holiday lull that had a spillover effect on the market for resales.
“Some owners of condos may have seized the chance to purchase a new condo and also sell their previous home, so they do not need to pay an additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) for the second property they own,” he said.
Mohan Sandrasegeran said the relaunched luxury condominium Cuscaden Reserve, at “more appealing price points” and arouses interest in the private resales market.
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The Straits Times reported that when the project fell short of its initial deadline to sell all unsold units by 2023, it was offering discounted offers starting at $2,900 for a square. ft.
The ABSD deadline has been extended to 2024.
M. Sandrasegeran said that 34 units were sold at Cuscaden Reserve in March. Of these, 76.5 percent went to Singaporean buyers.
The increase in sales “highlights the value of strategically placed projects for development that provide worth to the market in its current state.”
In comparison, the volume of resales were down 22,8 per cent compared to March 2023. The number of sales was also down 12 percent compared to the average monthly number for March.
PropNex’s Ms Wong reported that foreign-owned purchases were up by 1.3 percent of the overall amount of resale during March. This was up from 0.5 percent in February. There 11 units were that were sold to foreign buyers.
She also said that the there was a demand for resales of properties from foreign buyers had slowed significantly following the ABSD increase in April 2023. At that time the cost for foreigners buying residential properties went up from 30% to 60%.
“We anticipate interest in foreign investments to remain low in light of the punitive ABSD rate.” she said.
In March, 48.2 percent of all condo resale deals took place in the suburbs. The suburbs comprised 31.6 percent, the remaining being located in prime districts.
The highest amount paid was $8.7million for a 2,971 sqft 99-year leasehold at Corals in Keppel Bay.
One square. feet. apartment in the Seaside Residences, Marine Parade’s 99-year leasehold condominium was sold for $3.41m.
