PROPERTY SECTOR REPORT: RESIDENTIAL
Demand for residential properties has been resilient this year
Singapore residential market on track to break last year’s figures The overall private residential properties index saw its fifth consecutive quarterly increase in Q2 2021.
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t has been a “two steps forward, one step back” game in Singapore’s residential property market as property players experience a hopeful recovery during the first quarter of the year before another round of economic uncertainty as new outbreaks of COVID-19 were reported and the city had to undergo weeks of another circuit breaker. Property analysts all agreed that despite tightened measures in the second quarter (Q2) due to several circuit breaker implementations, private sale volumes and prices have largely withstood it all. According to OrangeTee, the overall price index for private residential properties increased by 0.8% in Q2 2021, the fifth consecutive quarterly increase. Notably, however, this is a slower rate compared to 3.3% growth last year. “Demand for residential properties has been resilient this year despite the heightened alert measures. A total 20
REAL ESTATE ASIA | Q1 2021
of 16,549 private homes (excluding executive condominiums) have been sold. The full-year sales for 2021 are poised to surpass the 20,909 inked in 2020,” Senior Vice President of Research & Analytics at OrangeTee Christine Sun said. In OrangeTee’s Private Residential Market Report, the price increase in Q2 was driven mainly by nonlanded homes in Outside Central Region (OCR) which rose by 1.9% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Prices rose the fastest for the OCR where supply is the leanest. In contrast, however, the price increment was less significant for the Core Central Region (CCR) at 1.1% and 0.1% in the Rest of Central Region (RCR). Circuit breaker Re-tightening of measures did only little to quench market appetite. According to CBRE Southeast Asia’s Head of Research Tricia Song,
Demand for residential properties has been resilient this year despite the heightened alert measures. Re-tightening of measures did little to quench market appetite
despite the re-tightening of measures in late July and only one major launch of Pasir Ris 8, July’s developer sales surged 82.2% month-on-month to 1,589 units, demonstrating continued strength in demand for homes, particularly in the suburbs. The circuit breaker actually helped the market as Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures cooled the market down without the need for government interference. New sale vs resale market The resale market dominated most of the first half of 2021. Sun said that new home sales dipped 15.1% from 3,493 units in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 to 2,966 units in Q2. The slower market was due to movement restrictions during Singapore’s heightened alert period back in May. In contrast, the number of resale transactions rose by 18% QoQ from 4,519 units in Q1 2021 to 5,333 units
