New home sales climbed for a fourth consecutive month, driven by more project launches. According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), new home sales, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), surged by 80.3 per cent from 492 units in March to 887 units in April this year. This is the highest new sales since September 2022, when 987 new homes, excluding ECs, were sold. 

On a year-on-year basis, sales rose by 34.2 per cent from 661 units in April 2022. Including ECs, sales jumped by 77.2 per cent from 513 units in March to 909 units in April 2023. 

Last month’s good sales were supply-led as two high-profile projects were launched. A large-sized project in Marine Parade at District 15, the 638-unit Tembusu Grand, moved 354 units or 55.5 per cent of its entire project. Another midsized project along Slim Barracks Rise in the Queenstown planning area, the 275-unit Blossoms by the Park, sold 205 units or 74.5 per cent of its units. 

The other best-selling projects, including ECs, were The Atelier, The Landmark, Pullman Residences Newton, Leedon Green, North Gaia, Hyll on Holland, Piccadilly Grand, Midtown Modern, and The Botany at Dairy Farm. 

As both key launches, Tembusu Grand and Blossoms by the Park, are in the city fringes, the bulk of last month’s transactions or 70.8 per cent of total sales, excluding ECs (628 units), came from the Rest of Central Region (RCR). This was followed by the Core Central Region (CCR) at 23.4 per cent (208 units) and the Outside of Central Region (OCR) at 5.7 per cent (51 units).

The stellar sales at Blossoms by the Park were a surprise, as almost 75 per cent of the project was sold within its launch month despite the new cooling measures. 

According to URA Realis data, the sales performance at Blossoms by the Park was comparable to earlier launches in the RCR. Piccadilly Grand and Liv@MB sold 76.9 per cent and 75.2 per cent of their total units, respectively, during their launch months (Table 1). 

The new property curbs did not deter Singaporeans from buying Blossoms by the Park as they formed the bulk of purchasers at 83.9 per cent (Table 2). However, the Singaporean proportion was slightly lower than 90.3 per cent at Tembusu Grand, 91.1 per cent at Piccadilly Grand and 88.8 per cent at Liv@MB.

Small units sold well at Blossoms by the Park, with 120 out of 205 units (58.5 per cent) below 70sqm, indicating that many locals probably bought small units for their own occupation, or local investment demand remains firm despite the cooling measures. 

Demand may continue to be resilient at some future launches, especially suburban and city fringe projects that tend to attract local buyers. An upcoming project like The Reserve Residences may appeal to local families as this is an integrated development in the city fringe where supply is limited and close to many top schools in the Bukit Timah area. 

The cooling measures may not stop local buyers, especially first-timers unaffected by the increased ABSD. Some buyers expect prices to rise further since more buyers may enter the market when interest rates moderate and most Singaporeans are gainfully employed. 

Moreover, home prices have continued to rise even after each round of ABSD adjustments, based on historical trends.