Sluggish start to 2024 ends in decade-high home sales at year’s end
Speculation is now rampant about the choice of further real estate cooling procedures, provided the uncharacteristically high November sales. “While November’s sales numbers are outstanding, they supply an insufficient picture for anticipating lessening procedures,” Chia notes. “The marketplace liveliness was mostly generated by a year-end thrill to launch projects.”
The exception was the 533-unit Lentor Mansion, which attained a 75% take-up rate during its release weekend in March. Most various other project launches in 1H2024 viewed fairly lacklustre profits compared to 2023.
Chia says this decisive shift from vigilance to action was prompted by the approaching year-end festive lull and improved market sentiment since the third quarter of 2024. “The surge in event has actually transformed November right into an uncommonly dynamic duration for real estate launches, opposing the normal seasonal stagnation and developing a vibrant market environment.”
Developer sales in November soared to 2,557 units– the strongest figure ever since March 2013, when 3,489 units were launched and 2,793 were offered, according to Huttons Data Analytics.
The real estate industry in 2024 unravelled in 2 starkly contrasting halves. The initial part was slow-moving, with boutique developments getting centre stage and the lowest number of units released sold since 1H1996, according to Huttons Data Analytics. Sales quantity mirrored this trend, with just 1,889 units sold– the most affordable from 1996.
Norwood Grand was the first new exclusive residence project introduced in Woodlands in 12 years. Its solid performance was also a clear signal of growing buyer confidence and demand, according to Huttons’ Yip. It caused a tidal upsurge of event in November with a record-breaking 6 brand-new assignments consisting of 3,551 units released over 10 days.
” Market sentiment was reluctant and cautious,” mentions Mark Yip, Chief Executive Officer of Huttons Asia. “It could be because of uncertainties in the occupation market and constantly high interest rates. Customers were most likely holding off, waiting for the highly anticipated project launches later on in the year, such as Chuan Park and Emerald of Katong.”
In 3Q2024, brand-new home sales jumped 60% q-o-q, according to Huttons, which noted a switch in view, which some attribute to the 50-basis factor interest rate reduced by the United States Federal Reserve in September.
Yip notices that the dispatch of the 276-unit property Kassia on Flora Drive around late July, that attained a 52% take-up fee, established the setting for solid sales momentum following the Lunar Seventh Month.
It started on Nov 6 with the kick off of the 367-unit The Collective at One Sophia, followed by the 366-unit Union Square Residences at Havelock Road on Nov 9. Momentum built up with the launch of the 916-unit Chuan Park on Nov 10, and it rose over the weekend break of Nov 15-16 with three plans released jointly: the 846-unit Emerald of Katong, the 552-unit Nava Grove, and the 504-unit Novo Place exec condo (EC).
According to Chia Siew Chuin, JLL’s head of residential research, the sluggish performance of the private residence sector in the first 3 quarters of 2024 developed an atypical year-end situation. “Property developers, that had actually repeatedly delayed kick off as a result of financial unpredictabilities and expectations for enhanced situations, finally turned out ventures in November.”
Further proof of boosted sales energy emerged on Oct 5, the moment greater than 50% of the 226 units at Meyer Blue were bought in private sales. Units were settled at an average rate of $3,260 psf, setting a brand-new standard for the prime District 15 enclave on the East Coast.
The first campaign released after the Lunar Seventh Month was the 158-unit 8@BT at Bukit Timah Web Link. Over the weekend break of Sept 21– 22, 53% of its units were purchased at a common price of $2,719 psf.
With cumulative new home sales in 2024 most likely to remain on a par with that in 2023, Chia considers regulatory intervention “unlikely”. Any intervention, she states, will depend upon two factors: sustained sales momentum right into the initial quarter of 2025 and a simultaneous sharp surge in property prices surpassing GDP growth.
The strong November productivity pushed overall developer sales for the early 11 months of 2024 to 6,344 units. Year-end numbers are expected to exceed 6,500 units, exceeding the 6,421 units sold in 2023. “This reflects the stability and resilience of the property market,” states Huttons’ Yip. “It marks the lasting demand of property as an investment for wealth production and security.”
The 348-unit Norwood Grand in Woodlands additionally achieved several events. Over the weekend of October 19-20, it observed a take-up level of 84%, causing it to the best-selling project in terms of percentage of sales since October. The standard price of units sold was $2,067 psf, marking the very first time a property in Woodlands exceeded the $2,000 psf limit.
“Despite close checking by authorities, brand-new steps are most likely to remain on hold unless clear indicators of relentless market overheating arise,” Chia adds.
