SINGAPORE: Singapore’s new private home sales tripled quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, driven by more new launches and lower interest rates, according to Savills.
The Rest of Central Region (RCR) recorded the highest jump in new home sales, rising from 391 units in the third quarter (Q3) to 1,859 units in Q4. The Core Central Region (CCR), which had seen six consecutive quarters of decline, rebounded from 54 units to 137 units in sales. Meanwhile, Outside of the Central Region (OCR), new sales nearly doubled from 715 units to 1,424 units.
For the full year of 2024, OCR led the market with 52.2 per cent of total new sales, followed by RCR at 42.0 per cent, while the CCR accounted for 5.8 per cent, as reported by Singapore Business Review.
Secondary home sales showed a different trend, with transaction volume falling 4.7 per cent in Q4, reversing the gains seen in the previous two quarters. Still, secondary sales were 23.8 per cent higher than a year ago, reversing two years of decline.
Among different regions of the city-state, only RCR recorded a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase in secondary sales, rising by 1.9 per cent. CCR and OCR saw declines of 3.3 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively.
Savills Singapore managing director George Tan said buyer confidence improved, particularly among Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PRs) purchasing non-landed homes. He expects this positive sentiment to continue in 2025, supported by new launches and opportunities for homeowners to upgrade.
Savills Singapore executive director Alan Cheong added that demand in 2025 will likely come from late baby boomers, early Gen-X buyers, and HDB upgraders as the price gap narrows between HDB resale flats and private properties. HDB resale prices rose by 9.7 per cent YoY, while private property prices increased by 3.9 per cent YoY.
Mr Cheong said private property prices could increase by 7 per cent this year. However, if prices climb too quickly, new cooling measures may be introduced, which could result in a 1 per cent price correction by the end of the year, he said. /TISG
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