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International Property
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Singapore’s July home sales jump 8.2 per cent from a month earlier to this year’s highest as buyers emerge from Covid-19 restrictions

  • July’s home sales rose 8.2 per cent from a month earlier to 1,080 units, chalking up the highest monthly transaction number since November 2019
  • July sales fell 8.4 per cent compared with last year

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Property buyers during a 2019 sales preview at the Parc Clematis, the second-best selling residential property project in July in Singapore. Photo: The Edge Singapore
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Since the easing of circuit breaker restrictions on June 19, sales momentum of private homes has continued to pick up steam. A total of 1,080 new homes (excluding Executive Condominiums or ECs) were sold in July, up by 8.2 per cent from 998 units sold in June and the highest since November last year. The figure was 8.4 per cent lower than July 2019.

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Despite the lack of major launches in July, Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, said that the market has continued to absorb units from previously launched projects at a pace that is “commendable given the substantial economic headwind from the pandemic”.

He attributed the higher sales figure to “underlying housing demand, ample liquidity in the system, low interest rates, and attractively priced projects”.

Deals were made for balance units at prior projects such as Treasure at Tampines (112 units sold), Parc Clematis (87 units sold), Jadescape (75 units sold) and Daintree Residences (56 units sold), said Desmond Sim, head of research (Southeast Asia) at CBRE. He attributed the uptick in sales to anecdotal evidence of developer discounts and incentives, as well as a low-interest rate environment.

Skyscrapers stand beyond traditional shophouses in the central business district in Singapore, on Friday, March 27, 2020. Singapore delivered a second stimulus package of S$48 billion ($33 billion) to fight the coronavirus outbreak, drawing on national reserves for the first time since the global financial crisis to support an economy heading for recession. Photo: Bloomberg
Skyscrapers stand beyond traditional shophouses in the central business district in Singapore, on Friday, March 27, 2020. Singapore delivered a second stimulus package of S$48 billion ($33 billion) to fight the coronavirus outbreak, drawing on national reserves for the first time since the global financial crisis to support an economy heading for recession. Photo: Bloomberg
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“Surprisingly, developers did not rush to launch new projects in the month of July before the seventh lunar month kicks in on Aug 19 to Sep 16,” said Ong Teck Hui, senior director of research and consultancy at JLL.

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