What is currently happening in the real estate market was not foreseen by specialists, as everybody was expecting a significant decrease considering the worsening of the economic background because of the pandemic. However, despite all this, private homes are still in demand and, more than this, are being purchased. Thus, the month of July brought an increase of 8.2% regarding the number of units that were sold under these unprecedented conditions. More precisely, the newly-built homes manage to grab the attention of homebuyers. This particular sector enjoys an increase for the 3rd month in a row, even if the economics are far from being ideal.
What we are talking about are not just mere assumptions. The numbers speak for themselves, as developers providing non-landed private units managed to sell a number of 1,080 in the month that just passed. Taking the numbers from June, the increase reached a threshold of 8.2%, which is indeed unexpected. The increase is more than welcome after the circuit breaker that marked the month of April, an event that almost set the lowest value for the past 6 years. However, even with this increase, the sales are still well below those recorded in the same month of the past year. A year ago, in the same period, 1.179 units were sold, which means that this year sales are going down with 8.4%.
In July, 869 Singapore condo / apartments were launched on the market, which exceeds the number of units made available in June. Compared to the 597 units launched in June, July recorded a growth of 46% in this direction. But, according to specialists, these numbers are due to launches that were scheduled earlier in the year.
How come people have the courage to invest in new private properties when the economy is so unstable? PropNex’s head of research, Ms. Wong Siew Ying, said that not all sectors of the economy are affected evenly by the pandemic. Some sectors managed to do well during these past months, such as the tech and financial service sectors. Those that worked in these activity domains were not that affected, from a financial point of view, compared to others that activated in different domains. Thus, they feel safer and more secure when considering their jobs. When this happens, you don’t see a problem with buying a home. Plus, let us not forget those that managed to save money, enough to have an open door toward a new property.
Still, the number of property launches is rather small. This shows that developers are being cautious, not jumping to large investments, and significant project developments. Because it is hard to tell what tomorrow will bring, developers wish to take it slower and recalibrate in a safe manner. The increase in sales may be a pleasant surprise, but the truth is that no one expects them to last. It is all up to whether the pandemic can be held under control or not. All the related factors to this aspect could affect both the launches of new properties and their sale during the remaining months of the year.
The link below will provide you with more details,
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-home-sales-up-for-3rd-month-in-row
New launches in Singapore
