The latest estimates released by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) show that new private home sales, including executive condominiums (ECs), slipped 18.1 per cent year-on-year to 470 units in February, down 14.9 per cent year-on-year.

The estimates also show that the Core Central Region (CCR), which represents upmarket private housing, was the most popular with buyers, with 222 units sold. The Other Central Region (RCR), representing mid-range private housing, and the Outside Central Region (OCR), representing mass market private housing, sold 163 and 47 units respectively.

The global economy is currently fraught with uncertainty, mortgage rates are rising and the government announced an increase in buyer's stamp duty on some private homes in Budget 2023 just over a month ago. Despite this, they do not seem to have had a significant impact on the private property market.

For example, after the increase in BSD on 15 February, the first official sale of Terra Hill was the star of the month, with 97 units sold out of 270 at a median price of $2,699 per square foot, showing that buyers are not afraid of the BSD increase.

Terra Hill in Pasir Panjang, a freehold development jointly developed by Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments, attracted over 10,000 visitors at its preview and 97 units were sold throughout February.

Commenting on the sales results at Top Ledge, Sidney Lee, senior research director at Hopedale Group, said, "Buyers see the small increase in buyer's stamp duty as a symbol of wealth, which will not deter them from buying private homes."

Analysis suggests that the increase in buyer's stamp duty is limited, so the increase in buyer's stamp duty does not seem to have affected buying sentiment. Three of the Urban Renewal Authority's top five best-selling private residential projects in February were from the core Central District, with Pullman Residences being the best of the bunch, selling 38 units at a median price of $3,171 per square foot. Launched in 2019, Pullman Residences has 340 units, of which approximately 76% have been sold, with 258 units.

The low sales of mass private housing is believed to be due to the fact that there were no mass private housing openings in February, hence only 47 units were sold. The only mass market project in Tampines that was among the top five in terms of sales last month was EC King Ritz (Tenet).

This EC project was the third highest selling project in February with 24 units sold at a median sf price of $1,399. 97% of the 618 units or 600 units have been sold so far. When launched in December last year, it became the top selling new private residential development, but was edged out by the new project in January.

The fourth and fifth highest selling private homes are both from OCR; Leedon Green, near Holland Road, sold 21 units in February, ranking fourth in sales, with a median sq ft price of $2,943. Leedon Green, a joint development between Yanlord Land and MCL Properties, has sold around 90% of its 638 units to date.

Perfect Ten in Bukit Timah has been a regular on the sales list, with 20 units sold in February. 90% of the 230 units in Perfect Ten, or 207 units, have been sold so far, with a median sf price of $3,174 achieved in February.