The newly released data on new private home sales in October shows that the sales of new private homes in this month (October) after the cooling measures have indeed plummeted by 68.4% compared to September. What's next for the Singapore property market?

According to the estimated data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore on Tuesday (November 15), in October 2022, property developers sold 312 new private residential units (excluding executive condominiums), a sharp drop of 68.4% from 987 units in September.

The reason for this is the lack of new major projects launched in the market in October following the cooling measures announced at the end of September, according to Lan Zhenwen, Director of Industrial Research and Consulting at Dai Yuxiang.

Only two property projects opened in October, one of which was Enchante in the Core Central Region (CCR), which represents upscale private housing; and the other project was Pollen Collection in the Outside Central Region (OCR), which represents mass private housing.

Looking at the market, the total number of new units opened last month (October) plummeted by almost 90% from the previous month (September), from 913 units in September to 102 units in October.

The market generally expected the latest cooling measures to bring about a conditioned reflex (knee-jerk reaction) and developers took a wait-and-see attitude, so few new property units were launched this month, but this also gave the market enough room to digest these new measures, said Lan Zhenwen, director of industrial research and consultancy at Eugene Tai.

Of the 10 best-selling projects island-wide, seven are located in the core central district, which represents high-end private housing, including the Perfect Ten project in Bukit Timah, which sold 37 units, Pullman Residences Newton, which sold 13 units, and Hyll on Holland, located at the junction of Farrer Road and Holland Road, which sold 12 units. With 12 units sold, the total number of units sold in these projects accounted for 36% of the new private residential sales in the core Central District in October.

The remaining three of the top 10 most popular real estate projects in Singapore are located in the Other Central Region (RCR), which represents mid-range private housing, with 16 units sold at Riviere, 15 units sold at One Pearl Bank and 12 units sold at the Landmark, which accounted for 53% of the total number of units sold in the Other Central Region in October. These units accounted for 53% of all other private residential sales in the Central District in October.

In terms of unit size, the most popular type of new private residential units for purchase in the non-landed sector were those of approximately 93-140 square meters (1,000 to 1,500 square feet), accounting for 33% of the month's transactions, much more than in September (21%), according to an analysis of data provided by DYXA Industrial Consulting in relation to the authority.

In addition, sales of units of at least 140 square meters (1,500 square feet), which came in second, accounted for 11% of October's transaction volume, an increase from 7% in September.

According to DYXA's Director of Industrial Research and Consulting, Mr. Lan Zhenwen, overall, the reason why so many households choose to purchase larger units of approximately 93 square meters (1,000 square feet) or more is because these households value larger living spaces to meet their living, working and leisure needs.

DYXA Industrial Consulting expects private home prices in the core Central District to continue to rise on the back of three major factors. Firstly, the reopening of the border may stimulate foreign buying demand.

Secondly, the tight financial environment will have little impact on home buyers in the core Central District.

Third, prices in the Core Central Region have experienced more moderate growth during this cycle than in the other two regions, which provides good opportunities for buyers.