Huttons’ comments on June’s developer sales

Developers launched 597 units and sold 998 units in June. The volume of sold units in June is 104.9% higher month-on-month and 21.6% higher year-on-year.

Pent up demand drove monthly sales up by more than 100% to its highest ever in 2020. The strong surge in developer sales in June 2020 is not unexpected. This trend was observed in other countries as well. Many buyers were waiting on the sidelines waiting for the show galleries to be open to make their purchase. Some buyers see this relaxation of rules as a window of opportunity to buy their dream home in case measures are tightened again.

It is worth noting that 54% of the sales in June are over 12 days of physical viewing (19 to 30 June) with the rest over 18 days of virtual viewing. While there is a pivot to virtual viewing, there is still a portion who prefers to see a physical product.

A breakdown of the deals in June revealed that there were more deals done in the CCR after physical viewing was allowed and this pushed the average quantum up to $1.51 million from $1.43 million.

We estimate there could be up to 20 new launches (around 6,000 units) in 2H 2020 with Cairnhill 16 first to hit the road on 17th July. While the economy contracted by 12% in 2Q 2020, economists agreed that the worst is over and recovery is on the cards. The resilience in the market and property as an endearing asset class among investors will drive sales in the market. The market may see sales of between 8,000 and 8,500 units in 2020.

• By Huttons Group
• Jul 15, 2020