Private home sales in Singapore continued their upward trend in February, driven by the launch of new projects. According to data released by URA on March 17, developers sold 1,575 units (excluding executive condos) last month, with an increase of 45.4% from the 1,083 units sold in January.
Compared to February 2024, where only 153 units were sold, this year’s performance is over 10 times higher. Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia, notes that this is the highest February sales figure in 13 years, since 2,417 units were sold in February 2012. Including ECs, the total number of new home sales in February was 1,604 units, a 45.3% increase from January.
Developers have sold a total of 2,658 units (excluding ECs) since the beginning of the year. In comparison, it took eight months for developers to reach a similar figure last year, according to Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
The strong sales performance in February can be attributed to the launch of two major projects in the Outside Central Region (OCR): ParkTown Residence in Tampines North with 1,193 units and Elta on Clementi Avenue 1 with 501 units. In February, ParkTown Residence sold 1,041 units at a median price of $2,363 psf, making it the top-selling project of the month. The project, jointly developed by UOL Group and CapitaLand Development, recorded an 87% take-up rate.
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Elta was the second best-performing project, with 326 units (65.1%) sold at a median price of $2,538 psf. The project is developed by MCL Land and CSC Land Group. Song from CBRE notes that both projects are located in suburban areas with no new supply in the last five years, which contributed to their strong sales performances.
Including these two projects, developers launched a total of 1,694 units in February, an 89% increase from the 896 units launched in January. The majority of sales (92%) came from the OCR, with 1,452 units sold, making it the best-performing month for the region in over nine years, since 1,523 units were sold in July 2015, according to Wong Siew Ying, Head of Research and Content at PropNex Realty.
Sales in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) accounted for 6.2% (98 units) of total sales in February. The top-selling project in the RCR was Pinetree Hill, which sold 22 units at a median price of $2,613 psf. In the Core Central Region (CCR), only 25 units were sold, accounting for 1.6% of total developer sales. The top-selling project in the CCR was 19 Nassim with five units sold at a median price of $3,372 psf, followed by One Bernam with four units sold at $2,651 psf. The 351-unit One Bernam, launched in May 2021, is now fully sold.
Singapore citizens made up the majority of new home buyers (92.4%), followed by permanent residents (6.9%), according to Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia. Foreign buyers accounted for 11 units, including the two most expensive purchases in February: two units at 32 Gilstead for $14.47 million and $14.61 million.
According to Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group, a record number of suburban homes (603 units) were sold for over $2 million in February. This is the highest number of such sales since URA data became available in 1995. The previous record was in November 2024, with 512 units sold in the OCR for over $2 million.
Of the 603 units sold, 596 were non-landed homes, mostly from ParkTown Residence (397 units), Elta (145 units), and Hillock Green (16 units). Wong from PropNex notes that recent project launches have seen average unit prices deviate from their sub-market locations. For example, The Collective at One Sophia, a CCR project launched in November 2024, has sold 73 units at an average price of $2,743 psf, lower than the average transacted prices of units sold at Union Square Residences ($3,175 psf) in the RCR and slightly higher than that of The Orie ($2,734 psf), also in the RCR.
Meanwhile, recent launches in the OCR have recorded average unit prices of $2,589 psf (Chuan Park), $2,544 psf (Elta), and $2,489 psf (Bagnall Haus), exceeding the average unit price of RCR project Nava Grove at $2,460 psf. Wong speculates that the narrowing price gaps between regions could be due to various factors, such as project-specific attributes, pricing driven by amenities, demand from HDB upgraders, and location of projects on the cusp of the CCR.
She predicts that prices could continue to converge in the coming months with the launch of new RCR projects, such as One Marina Gardens and future developments on Zion Road residential sites.
The strong sales momentum is expected to continue in March, with the launch of projects like 477-unit Lentor Central Residences, 188-unit Aurea, and Tampines EC’s 760-unit Aurelle. As of mid-March, these projects have sold over 1,150 units collectively, setting the stage for a strong quarter. In light of the robust sales in the first quarter, ERA has revised its sales projection for the whole of 2025 to between 8,500 and 9,000 units, higher than its previous range of 7,000 to 8,000.
Huttons’ Lee estimates that developers sales (excluding ECs) will exceed 3,200 units in the first quarter, making it the highest first-quarter sales since 2021.
As new projects are launched in the coming months, Knight Frank’s Tay notes that not all of them may perform well, as homebuyer demand will depend on the specific location and attributes of each project.