April 2020 witnessed a new low, the sales of new private homes tumbled to a 5 year low. And, the month of May is predicted to be a total bummer as new launches are postponed and show-flat galleries remain closed on account of the circuit breaker extension.
April 2020 recorded sales of only 277 private homes, the month witnessed a down by 58 percent from 660 homes sold in March. And, in comparison with the sales recorded in April 2019, the sale faced a down by 62.4 percent as the real-estate market was stagnant this year. It is after 5 years, the real estate market has experienced a significant low. In December 2014, only 230 units of private homes were sold, and the all-time low was recorded in Jan 2009 when only 108 units of private homes were sold.
The drop came as a real letdown because more new condos units were launched for sale in April. There were 44 percent more new launch condos were available in comparison to the figures of April 2019. Approximately, 640 new units were up for sale this April. And, the astonishing part is that the figure does not include the public-private housing hybrid (executive condominiums).
Nearly 36 percent of 277 new units were sold after the commencement of the circuit breaker period on April 7. However, the majority of these buyers may have toured the show-flats before the lockdown kicked in. If calculated, only about one-third of units were sold during the circuit breaker period. The real-estate experts state that the ongoing market uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic will outright the demand for the new private homes. This situation is predicted to prevail even after the circuit-breaker regulations are waived-off in June 2020.
The assessment by real-estate big-shot states that new units accounted for only 0.7 percent of developers’ sales in April 2020, in contrast to 2 percent recorded in March 2020. The majority of new sales popped in the first week of April before the circuit-breaker kicked in.
The ongoing global crisis due to COVID-19 has not only home quarantined people, but it also has drastically influenced the buying behavior of the consumers. The buyers are inclined towards wait and see approach and their spending capacity is price-sensitive. This is clearly evident from the sales in the first week of April. The sales were mainly in the city vicinity and suburbs that had a lower price quantum
The property experts have predicted that If the circuit breaker period expires on June 1, show-flat viewings and sales activity would witness a spur. The month of June is typically stagnant for the new unit launch on account of the school holidays. However, due to the pandemic the June school holidays have been brought forward to April and May. Besides that, schools are more likely to reopen in June. The month is likely to create great buying and selling prospects for the real estate. The experts claim that new launches could recover and really in June 2020.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-private-home-sales-fall-to-five-year-low-in-april
