Sluggish start to 2024 ends in decade-high home sales at year’s end
The solid November efficiency drove total developer sales for the very first 11 months of 2024 to 6,344 units. Year-end figures are expected to exceed 6,500 units, surpassing the 6,421 units marketed in 2023. “This shows the stability and flexibility of the real estate market,” states Huttons’ Yip. “It emphasizes the lasting demand of property as an investment for wealth creation and security.”
“Despite close checking by authorities, new procedures are most likely to remain on hold unless clear indicators of relentless market overheating emerge,” Chia adds.
In 3Q2024, new home sales jumped 60% q-o-q, according to Huttons, which regarded a turn in view, which some attribute to the 50-basis factor rate of interest cut by the United States Federal Reserve in September.
Speculation is today rampant about the possibility of further real estate cooling actions, offered the uncharacteristically high November sales. “While November’s sales figures are impressive, they give an incomplete picture for anticipating lessening actions,” Chia notes. “The market liveliness was largely generated by a year-end rush to release projects.”
The real estate market in 2024 unravelled in 2 starkly different halves. The first half was slow, with boutique developments taking centre stage and the smallest variety of units launched up for sale ever since 1H1996, according to Huttons Data Analytics. Sales quantity represented this fad, with just 1,889 units sold– the most affordable ever since 1996.
With cumulative new home sales in 2024 most likely to remain comparable with that in 2023, Chia considers regulatory intervention “unlikely”. Any intervention, she says, will depend on 2 factors: sustained sales momentum right into the initial quarter of 2025 and a simultaneous sharp increase in property rates outpacing GDP growth.
It started on Nov 6 with the open of the 367-unit The Collective at One Sophia, followed by the 366-unit Union Square Residences at Havelock Roadway on Nov 9. Momentum built up with the launch of the 916-unit Chuan Park on Nov 10, and it surged over the weekend break of Nov 15-16 with three plans launched in concert: the 846-unit Emerald of Katong, the 552-unit Nava Grove, and the 504-unit Novo Place exec condo (EC).
Norwood Grand was the first brand-new nonpublic residential job introduced in Woodlands in 12 years. Its strong performance was additionally a clear indicator of expanding buyer trust and demand, according to Huttons’ Yip. It caused a tidal surge of activity in November with a record-breaking 6 new projects comprising 3,551 units unleashed over 10 days.
Yip sees that the dispatch of the 276-unit property Kassia on Flora Drive around late July, which accomplished a 52% take-up price, established the stage for strong deals momentum following the Lunar Seventh Month.
The exemption was the 533-unit Lentor Mansion, which achieved a 75% take-up price during its release weekend in March. Many other work launches in 1H2024 viewed reasonably lacklustre revenues compared to 2023.
According to Chia Siew Chuin, JLL’s head of residential research, the sluggish performance of the exclusive residential sector in the first 3 quarters of 2024 created an atypical year-end circumstance. “Developers, who had actually continuously held off kick off due to economic uncertainties and hopes for improved conditions, ultimately rolled out ventures in November.”
” Market sentiment was tentative and cautious,” notes Mark Yip, Chief Executive Officer of Huttons Asia. “Perhaps due to unpredictabilities in the job market and persistently high interest rates. Buyers were most likely restraining, waiting for the highly anticipated project launches later on in the year, like Chuan Park and Emerald of Katong.”
Additional proof of enhanced sales momentum emerged on Oct 5, the moment greater than 50% of the 226 units at Meyer Blue were gotten in private sales. Units were transacted at a normal price of $3,260 psf, setting a new standard for the prime District 15 enclave on the East Coast.
Developer revenues in November skyrocketed to 2,557 units– the biggest figure ever since March 2013, when 3,489 units were launched and 2,793 were marketed, according to Huttons Data Analytics.
Chia states this crucial shift from vigilance to action was triggered by the coming close to year-end cheery lull and boosted market belief since the 3rd quarter of 2024. “The growth in activity has improved November into an uncommonly vibrant period for real estate start, resisting the regular seasonal downturn and developing a dynamic market setting.”
The very first assignment launched after the Lunar Seventh Month was the 158-unit 8@BT at Bukit Timah Web Link. Over the weekend break of Sept 21– 22, 53% of its units were snapped up at a standard cost of $2,719 psf.
The 348-unit Norwood Grand in Woodlands even accomplished multiple milestones. Over the weekend of October 19-20, it observed a take-up rate of 84%, making it the best-selling project in regards to percentage of sales since October. The standard price of units sold was $2,067 psf, marking the very first time a venture in Woodlands went beyond the $2,000 psf limit.
