The four residential projects that sold in the third quarter of this year were Chuan Park, Park View Mansions, Euro-Asia Apartments and a condominium building in Jalan UluSiglap.
The number of projects for sale in the third quarter was less than the second quarter, but the projects were larger, with the total sale price rising 27.3% to $1,382,480,000 from $111,726,000 in the second quarter.
Notably, all four projects were sold in July, with no projects sold in August and September.
The overall real estate market outlook is unpredictable and developers are cautious.
As home prices continue to rise, many homeowners are selling their homes at high prices to raise enough money to purchase replacement homes.
In addition, the government raised the additional stamp duty for home buyers late last year, increasing the cost burden for developers.
None of the major projects were sold in August and September.
There were also fewer bidders than the market expected in the government's land sale program tender exercise that ended in September.
This suggests that developers are slowing their land purchase activity in the face of rising interest rates, higher inflation and construction costs, and macroeconomic challenges.
The aborted bids for some of the pooled projects indicate that market sentiment is gradually turning cautious. In addition, the market saw fewer mixed-use developments launched in the third quarter than in the first half of the year, indicating a slight loss of traction in the centralized sales market.
People's Park Centre, a mixed-use commercial and residential project, was priced at $1.8 billion, but no developers participated in the bidding. The same bid failed for TrendaleTower, with an asking price of $178 million.
According to the first three quarters of this year, there were 14 successful sales of residential and commercial projects totaling $3.468 billion, up from $2.2 billion last year.
The economic slowdown and the latest round of real estate cooling measures have increased uncertainty in the real estate market. Smaller lots and freehold projects are more attractive to developers.
It is expected that the wholesale market is likely to maintain the status quo going forward, but attention must be paid to the impact of increased developer costs due to loan rates and reduced homebuyer demand.
Sales projects priced below $500 million and conveniently located, or larger projects located outside of urban areas, are more attractive to developers.
Even if the pooled sale project meets the developer's needs, the price must be reasonable for a successful transaction, and price expectations must be adjusted to ensure a successful pooled sale.
If bidding fails, owners are advised to reach a private agreement with potential buyers. It should also be clear that if this round of the collective sales program fails, it will take two years before another round of the program is launched.
