Condo resale volume hit two-year high in August: SRX, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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Condo resale volume hit two-year high in August: SRX

This article is more than 12 months old

The number of private non-landed homes resold hit a two-year high last month while prices firmed slightly in what observers see as another sign of the Singapore property market's growing recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

An estimated 1,052 resale condominium units and apartments changed hands last month - up 7 per cent from July and 36.3 per cent from August last year, according to flash figures from real estate portal SRX Property yesterday.

In July 2018 - the month when property cooling measures were announced - 1,100 units were sold.

The strong demand from Housing Board upgraders showed in the transactions of mass market homes in the outside central region (OCR), which accounted for nearly 60 per cent of August's resale transactions.

As in July, this group of buyers entered the private resale market in greater numbers when many flats became eligible for resale following their five-year minimum occupation period.

Ms Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, said August's stellar resales of private homes seem to be in tandem with the positive sales trends observed in other market segments.

STRONG

Last week's SRX flash estimate for the August HDB resale volume showed a similarly strong level of demand, with more than 2,400 HDB resale flats transacted for a third consecutive month.

Build-to-Order sales launches in a number of housing estates in August were also oversubscribed many times.

Based on the latest URA caveat data, new home sales, excluding executive condominiums or ECs, also hit more than 1,200 units in August during the Hungry Ghost Festival.

This is the most sales achieved over the last 12 months.

The strong housing demand across the different market segments indicates that Singapore's property market could be showing some "early signs of recovery", said Ms Sun.

"For many Singaporeans, residential properties may still be a 'safer bet', especially for investors who are looking for stable returns during times of uncertainty. The market exuberance from the primary market may have also spread to the secondary market as opportunistic buyers are on the look-out for under-valued resale properties in the market," she said.

Property