Singapore’s May residential sales slowdown reflects lack of launches, not weaker demand

Only Hudson Place Residences entered the market during the month.

Singapore's weaker new home sales performance in May reflected a lack of fresh project launches rather than softer demand, with sales expected to recover when more projects enter the market in the coming months, according to PropNex.

Wong Siew Ying, Head of Research and Content at PropNex, said the relatively subdued sales volume in May was largely due to a quieter launch calendar, with only Hudson Place Residences entering the market during the month.

PropNex expects sales activity to remain muted in June amid the school holiday period and the absence of major launches, before picking up in July with the anticipated launches of Lentor Gardens Residences and Dunearn House.

The standout performer in May was Hudson Place Residences, which achieved a 64% take-up rate and accounted for about 47% of developers' sales during the month. Wong said the project's success highlighted the importance of pricing discipline, noting that around 80% of units sold were transacted below SGD2.5 million, a key affordability threshold for many owner-occupiers.

The project's performance also points to strong buyer interest in the one-north precinct and could provide a useful benchmark for future government land sales sites in the area, PropNex said.

Singaporeans accounted for 89.5% of new non-landed private home purchases in May, the highest proportion in nine months, based on URA Realis caveat data. Permanent residents made up 8.7% of transactions, while foreigners accounted for 1.8%, or eight deals in total.

Despite market uncertainties, PropNex said underlying housing demand remains resilient, supported by genuine owner-occupier demand, healthy household balance sheets, a stable labour market and relatively low borrowing costs. The consultancy noted that the three-month compounded SORA stood at 1.085% per annum as at 15 June 2026.

Looking ahead, PropNex expects the market to remain highly supply-driven and welcomed the government's decision to maintain a healthy residential land supply pipeline under the second-half 2026 Government Land Sales programme, which could help developers replenish land banks and support a more sustainable housing market.