Huttons’ comments on April developers sales

Developers launched 640 units and sold 277 units in April. The volume of sold units in April is 58.0% lower month-on-month and 62.4% lower year-on-year.

The lowest developer sales on record was in Jan 2009 where 108 units were sold.

Compared to Jan 2009 when there was no circuit breaker, April 2020 sales are extremely good in light of the circumstances. There were initial worries that sales may be dismal given that sales galleries are closed. But April developer sales have proved otherwise. Buyers are receptive of the virtual way of viewing a sales gallery with almost 100 sales concluded after the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker has resulted in a shift in buying behaviour.

This is very encouraging as it shows that demand for property is resilient and buyers are buying into the long term fundamentals of Singapore and ignoring the short term uncertainties.

The top five private residential projects for April 2020 are:

In May, we expect sales to be similar to April. There was a surge in buying in the 1st week of May probably due to buyers deciding to commit after the circuit breaker was extended to 1 June. This proves that virtual viewings are no obstacles to concluding a deal.

• By Huttons Group
• May 15, 2020