Home sales continue to slow in June

According to report in the BT today, home seekers bought just 847 private homes from developers in June.

This is the smallest number of new sales in a month since the start of the year. It is 22% lower than the 1,083 units sold in May and 62% below April’s 2,208 units.

But overall sales for the first half of the year have been strong. Developers offloaded 8,584 units from January to June – an average of 1,431 monthly. They did better compared with the same period last year, when they sold 7,374 units in total or an average of 1,229 monthly.

Purchases had started falling in May as the euro debt crisis and high prices caused interested buyers to think twice.

According to flash estimates from the URA two weeks ago, the private residential property prices index hit a new high in Q2, past the pre-Asian financial crisis peak.

Developers have also held back launches – they rolled out 1,010 homes in June, down 11% from 1,135 in May.

Buying activities was concentrated in the suburbs, reflecting market caution. Home hunters bought 429 homes in the outside central region, accounting for 51% of total sales. These included 77 units from Waterfront Gold at Bedok, which made its debut in June.

In the rest of central region, developers sold 275 units or 32% of the total.

Activity was quietest in the core central region with 143 units or 17% sold. New launches included Far East Organization’s Skyline @Orchard Boulevard, where two units changed hands for a median price of $3,839psf.
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