Private home sales maintain strong momentum in February, with developers selling 1,575 units
The recent launches of new private homes have continued to drive strong sales momentum in the month of February, according to data released by URA on March 17. The figure of 1,575 private residential units, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), marks a 45.4% increase from January’s sales of 1,083 units.
Compared to the same period last year, February’s sales were over 10 times higher than the 153 units sold in February 2024. This is also the highest February sales figure for developers in the last 13 years since 2,417 units were sold in February 2012, says Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia. Including ECs, the total number of new homes sold in February was 1,604 units, up 45.3% from January.
Developers have now sold a total of 2,658 units (excluding ECs) since the start of the year. This is a significant improvement from last year, where developers took eight months to reach a similar figure, observes Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
The strong performance in February can be attributed to the launch of two major projects in the Outside Central Region (OCR): The 1,193-unit ParkTown Residence in Tampines North and the 501-unit Elta on Clementi Avenue 1. The former sold 1,041 units last month at a median price of $2,363 per square foot (psf), making it the best-selling project for the month, while the latter sold 326 units at a median price of $2,538 psf. Both these suburban projects have not seen any supply in the past five years, contributing to their robust performances, according to CBRE’s Song.
Including these two projects, developers launched a total of 1,694 units for sale in February, an 89% increase from the 896 units launched the month before. The majority of sales in the OCR made up 92% of the total new private homes sold in February, which is the best monthly showing for the OCR in over nine years, since 1,523 units were sold in July 2015, says Wong Siew Ying, PropNex Realty’s head of research and content.
The Rest of Central Region (RCR) accounted for 98 units, or 6.2% of the total units sold in February. The top-selling RCR project was the existing launch Pinetree Hill, which sold 22 units at a median price of $2,613 psf. The Core Central Region (CCR) had the smallest sales figure of 25 units, representing 1.6% of the total units sold. The best-selling CCR project was 19 Nassim, which sold five units at a median price of $3,372 psf. Four units were also sold at One Bernam at a median price of $2,651 psf. This 351-unit project, launched for sale in May 2021, is now fully sold.
In terms of buyer profile, Singapore citizens continued to make up the bulk of new private home buyers at 92.4%, followed by permanent residents at 6.9%, notes Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia. Foreigners accounted for 11 new home purchases, including the two most expensive transactions in February – the sale of two units at 32 Gilstead for $14.47 million and $14.61 million.
A record number of suburban homes also sold for over $2 million in February, with a total of 603 units sold in the OCR. This is the highest number of new suburban homes sold at this price range in a single month since URA data first became available in 1995. “The previous record was in November 2024, with 512 new homes in the OCR sold for at least $2 million,” adds Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group. Of these 603 OCR homes, a majority of 596 were non-landed homes, comprising mostly of units from ParkTown Residence (397 units), Elta (145 units), and Hillock Green (16 units).
The average unit prices of recent launches have “decoupled from the sub-market where these projects are located”, observes PropNex’s Wong. In the past, property prices generally followed a pecking order led by the CCR, followed by the RCR and then the OCR. However, recent launches suggest this may no longer always be the case. For instance, The Collective at One Sophia, a CCR project launched in November, has sold 73 units at an average price of $2,743 psf, based on URA data until the end of February. This is lower than the average transacted price of units sold at Union Square Residences ($3,175 psf) in the RCR and only slightly higher than that of The Orie ($2,734 psf), also in the RCR.
Meanwhile, recent OCR launches such as Chuan Park, Elta, and Bagnall Haus have registered average unit prices of $2,589 psf, $2,544 psf, and $2,489 psf, respectively. These prices have surpassed those of RCR project Nava Grove, which logged an average unit price of $2,460 psf. Wong believes that the narrowing price gaps between regions could be due to various factors, including site-specific attributes of projects, amenity-driven pricing, demand by HDB upgraders, and the location of certain projects on the cusp of the CCR.
Wong predicts that prices could further converge in the coming months as new RCR projects, located just off the CCR, come to the market, such as One Marina Gardens in Marina South and future developments on Zion Road residential sites.
The strong momentum in developers’ sales is expected to continue in March, supported by recent launches such as the 477-unit Lentor Central Residences, the 188-unit Aurea, and the 760-unit Aurelle of Tampines EC. “As of mid-March, these projects have collectively sold over 1,150 units, promising a strong closing to the quarter,” comments Marchus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. In light of the robust first-quarter sales, ERA has revised its new private home sales projection for the whole of 2025 to between 8,500 and 9,000 units, up from its previous range of 7,000 to 8,000.
Investors should carefully consider the maintenance and management of a condominium before making a real estate investment. Condos usually have maintenance fees that encompass the maintenance of shared spaces and amenities. While these fees may increase the overall cost of owning a condo, they also guarantee the property’s upkeep and retention of its value. With the help of a property management company, investors can effectively manage their condos on a day-to-day basis, making it a more hands-off investment. Additionally, keeping an eye out for new condo launches can provide exciting opportunities for investment in the future.
Huttons’ Lee estimates that developers’ sales (excluding ECs) will exceed 3,200 units for the first quarter of the year, making it the highest first-quarter sales figure since 2021. Going into the second quarter, new launches lined up include the 358-unit Bloomsbury Residences, the 937-unit One Marina Gardens, the 638-unit W Residences Singapore – Marina View, and the 107-unit Arina East Residences. However, despite the strong momentum established at the start of the year, not all projects launched in the coming months may perform equally well, notes Knight Frank’s Tay. “Homebuyer demand will largely be dependent on the specific location and property attributes of each specific new project launch, with some projects doing better than others,” he says.…