February saw a continuation of the strong trend in new private home sales, thanks to the launch of fresh properties. According to URA data released on March 17, developers sold 1,575 units (excluding executive condos) last month, marking a 45.4% increase from the 1,083 units sold in January.
Compared to February 2024, new home sales in February of this year were more than 10 times higher than the 153 units sold. This is also the highest February sales figure in 13 years, with the last peak of 2,417 units sold in February 2012, according to Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia. Including executive condos, a total of 1,604 units were sold in February, an increase of 45.3% from the previous month.
In just two months, developers have already sold a total of 2,658 units (excluding executive condos) this year. In comparison, it took them eight months to reach the same figure last year, notes Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
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The strong performance in February was mainly driven by two major launches in the Outside Central Region (OCR): ParkTown Residence in Tampines North with 1,193 units and Elta on Clementi Avenue 1 with 501 units. ParkTown Residence was the best-selling project for the month, with 1,041 units sold at a median price of $2,363 psf. This translates to an 87% take-up rate for the integrated project, jointly developed by UOL Group and CapitaLand Development. Elta was the second best-performing project, with 65.1% or 326 units sold by developers MCL Land and CSC Land Group at a median price of $2,538 psf. CBRE’s Song points out that both ParkTown Residence and Elta are located in suburban neighbourhoods that have not seen new supply in the last five years, contributing to their strong performances.
Including these two projects, a total of 1,694 units were launched for sale in February, a significant increase of 89% from the 896 units launched the previous month. Sales in the OCR accounted for a staggering 92% of the total new private homes sold in February, the best showing for the region in over nine years since July 2015 when 1,523 units were sold, says Wong Siew Ying, PropNex Realty’s head of research and content. Rest of Central Region (RCR) sales made up 98 units or 6.2% of the total units sold in February. The top-selling RCR project was Pinetree Hill, which sold 22 units at a median price of $2,613 psf. In the Core Central Region (CCR), only 25 units were sold, accounting for 1.6% of the total developers’ sales. The top-selling CCR project was 19 Nassim, with five units sold at a median price of $3,372 psf. Four units were also sold at One Bernam with a median price of $2,651 psf. The 351-unit One Bernam, launched for sale in May 2021, is now fully sold.
In terms of buyer profile, Singapore citizens made up the majority 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, 603, were sold for over $2 million in February, notes Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group. This is the highest number of new suburban homes sold at this price range in a single month since URA data became available in 1995. “The previous record was in November 2024, with 512 new homes in the OCR sold for at least $2 million,” she adds. Out of the 603 OCR homes, 596 were non-landed homes, mainly consisting of units from ParkTown Residence (397 units), Elta (145 units), and Hillock Green (16 units).
PropNex’s Wong observes that the average unit prices of recent launches have “decoupled from the sub-market where these projects are located”. While property prices generally follow a pecking order from CCR to RCR and then OCR, recent launches suggest that this may not always be the case. For example, The Collective at One Sophia, a CCR project launched in November 2024, has sold 73 units at an average unit price of $2,743 psf, based on URA data as of 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,” she continues. Recent OCR launches such as Chuan Park, Elta, and Bagnall Haus have recorded average unit prices of $2,589 psf, $2,544 psf, and $2,489 psf, respectively, surpassing Nava Grove in the RCR with an average unit price of $2,460 psf.
Wong believes the narrowing price gap between regions could be due to various factors, including specific project attributes, pricing based on amenities, demand from HDB upgraders, and locations on the cusp of the CCR. She predicts that prices could converge even more in the coming months as new RCR projects spring up just off the CCR, such as One Marina Gardens in Marina South and future developments on residential sites on Zion Road.
The strong momentum in developers’ sales is expected to continue in March, fueled by recent launches such as Lentor Central Residences with 477 units, Aurea with 188 units, and the Tampines EC Aurelle with 760 units. “As of mid-March, these projects have collectively sold over 1,150 units, promising a strong close to the quarter,” comments Marchus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. In light of the robust sales in the first quarter, ERA has revised its new private home sales projection for the whole of 2025 to between 8,500 and 9,000 units, an increase from the previous range of 7,000 to 8,000 units.
Huttons’ Lee estimates that developers’ sales (excluding ECs) will exceed 3,200 units in the first quarter of the year. This would make it the highest first-quarter sales since 2021, he adds. Going into the second quarter, potential new launches include Bloomsbury Residences with 358 units, One Marina Gardens with 937 units, W Residences Singapore – Marina View with 638 units, and Arina East Residences with 107 units. However, despite the strong start to the year, not all projects launched in the coming months may perform equally well, notes Knight Frank’s Tay. “Buyer demand will depend on the specific location and attributes of each new project, with some projects likely to do better than others,” he says.