Hot off the Telly: 1400 new private home sold in January 2010

The 9.30pm News today reported that January 2010 saw a total of 1,476 new private homes sold. This is nearly three times more than the 481 units sold in December 2009, and the first monthly increase since July 2009. 76% of the new launches were well above $1,000psf.

Half of the January 2010 new private homes transacted were from the prime district (e.g. Urban Suites at Carnhill). This is in line with property analyst expectations that the mid and high-end project sectors are set to shine this year.

However, analysts expect February sales to fall to 700 - 800 units due to the Lunar New Year break, but sales between March to June are expected to hit over 1000 units/month.

Despite the bullish outlook, it is unlikely that 2010 will see the kind of runaway prices that were previously seen in 2007. This is due to weak consumer demands in the West, credit tightening in China and the possibility of more government interventions in the property sector.

It was also reported that close to 30,500 private home deals were transacted in 2009. This is 131% more than 2008, but still lower than the more than 37,000 units sold in 2007.