Prices for condo resales rise in March as volume rebounds 17.4 percent
Singapore: The prices of resales condos jumped by 0.4 percent in March. The units sold were higher after the market recouped from its seasonal slump in February.
The price increase was slightly more than the 0.2 per cent rise in February, data flash from real estate portals Singapore Real Estate Exchange and 99.co showed on April 25.
Property analysts attributed the measured price increase to a gap in expectations of price between buyers and sellers, and also to high interest rates.
Ms Wong Siew Ying is the head of research and content at PropNex. She said that even though most sellers are willing to negotiations however they are not willing to lower their asking prices in order to save the cost to replace homes.
Year-to-year the price of condos sold for resales was increasing by 5 and those in suburbs gaining the most, at 7.1 percent, the data indicated.
Ms Christine Sun is the chief researcher and strategy of OrangeTee Group. She said that there were more condos built in suburban areas during the last few months, which might increase the cost of resale units. The condos were sold at a median of above $2,000 per square foot (psf) according to her research.
She noted that “more homeowners are increasing their asking price, because prices of new condominiums in suburban areas are substantially higher than those of resale homes.”
In March, the volume of resales rebounded, rising by 17.4 percent with an estimated 883 units traded hands, up from the 752 units that were sold in February.
Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip attributed this to the restart of projects in March after the Chinese New Year celebrations, which resulted in a ripple effect on the resale market.
He said that some condo owners may have bought a new condominium and then sold their previous one, in order to avoid paying stamp duty for the second property.
Mohan Sandrasegeran said the relaunched luxury condo Cuscaden Reserve, at “more appealing prices”, had injected renewed interest in the private resale market.
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The Straits Times reported that after the project was unable to meet its initial deadline to sell all units that were not sold in 2023, the company was offering discounted offers starting at $2,900 per sq. square foot.
The ABSD deadline has been extended to 2024.
Thirty-four units in Cuscaden Reserve were sold in March Cuscaden Reserve was sold, with 76.5 per cent of these being sold to Singaporean buyers Mr Sandrasegeran noted.
“This surge in transactions highlights the attractiveness of strategically-positioned developments that are valuable in the current economic climate,” he said.
Comparatively, the resale volumes were down by 22,8 percent compared to March 2023. The number of transactions also was 12 per cent lower than the five-year average for the month of March.
Transactions by foreign buyers rose to 1.3 percent of total resales in March, up from 0.5 percent in February, according to PropNex’s Ms Wong. 11 units were sold to foreign buyers.
She also said that demand for resale properties among foreigners has slowed considerably since the ABSD increase in April 2023. At that time, the rate for foreigners buying homes was increased from 30 per cent to 60 per cent.
She said: “We expect the foreign investment market to remain in check due to the hefty ABSD tax.”
In March, 48.2 percent of all condo resale deals took place in suburbs. The suburbs made up 31.6 percent, the remaining located in prime areas.
The highest transacted price was $8.7 million for a 99-year leasehold of 2,971 sq ft unit at Corals located at Keppel Bay.
In the suburban areas, a 1,485 sq ft unit at Seaside Residences, a 99-year leasehold condominium located situated in Marine Parade, was sold for $3.41 million.
