Why Home Sales in Singapore Dropped Sharply in March
Identify which initiatives led to this outcome.
As stated by Wong Siew Ying, who leads Research & Content at PropNex Realty, the decreased new home sales (excluding construction) in March were primarily due to the absence of major initiatives being started during the period.
Collectively, the Aurea and Lentor Central Residences offer a total of 665 units, compared with nearly 1,700 units at Parktown Residence and ELTA which were launched in February.
"Lentor Central Residences achieved impressive sales, with 96% of its units being sold after launching on March 8th. This pushed the total number of new homes (excluding Executive Condominiums) sold by developers in the mass-market or OCR sector up to 2,256 in Q1 2025, marking the highest quarterly figure in approximately 12 years. The last time such high numbers were recorded was back in Q2 2013 when 2,760 OCR units were traded," Wong noted.
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In the meantime, Executive Condominiums (ECs) remain highly popular amongst potential purchasers, which is evident from the strong sales performance at Aurelle in Tampines. The project established a fresh standard for transaction prices of new ECs, with an average unit price reaching $1,766 per square foot upon its release. Despite this, these properties still offer a more affordable entrance point compared to other newly launched private condominiums. We anticipate that the demand for new ECs will persist due to their appeal primarily to owner-occupiers.
After the significant improvement in buyer confidence during Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, market uncertainty has increased substantially in early April due to the U.S. imposing extensive tariffs on its trading partners, which led to a counteraction from China. From then until now, conditions remain unpredictable, and we anticipate ongoing fluctuations in market sentiment driven by international trade tensions.
Given that the real estate market relies heavily on sentiment, the negative impacts and unpredictability caused by the tariffs might affect investment choices regarding property purchases. On the other hand, individuals buying homes for personal use are expected to maintain steady demand since their needs span over a longer period.
Even though there has been increased wariness and market volatility in recent weeks, we believe that the sales and uptake rates for the two projects launched in April—Bloomsbury Residences (with 25% occupancy) and One Marina Gardens (which saw 38% uptake)—are rather encouraging. This indicates a notable degree of strength within the private residential property sector.
As these will be among the initial developments targeting the new residential areas in Media Circle and Marina South, we anticipate that transaction volumes will gradually increase as potential purchasers assess the changing fee landscape. Supported by Bloomsbury Residences and One Marina Gardens, we forecast that developer sales for April may remain consistent with those of March.