Singapore condo resale volume slips 1.2% to 1,563 units in December

This marks the fourth consecutive month of decline.

The latest information released by SRX reveals that condo resale volume in Singapore fell 1.2% to 1,563 units in December 2021, marking its fourth consecutive month of decline. The drop was attributed to seasonality factors, as people usually go on breaks during the holidays.

According to Wong Siew Ying, Head of Research and Content at PropNex Realty, while the new cooling measures imposed by the government from 16 December could have led some buyers to defer their purchase decision, feedback from our agents suggest that there haven’t been any major knee-jerk reactions on the part of buyers and sellers just yet. 

Here’s more from Wong:

Mass market homes in the OCR accounted for a lion’s share of the sales in December at about 59.1% of the resale volume, while CCR and RCR sub-markets accounted for 17.2% and 23.7% respectively. For the whole of 2021, the condo resale volume hit 20,079 transactions – up by 81.8% from 2020. We think the robust condo resale market in 2021 has likely helped to boost sales at new launches last year, as some sellers could have recycled capital into acquiring properties in new projects in more attractive locations and/or with better amenities.

Looking ahead, resale volumes will likely remain muted in January and February due to the Chinese New Year festivities but sales are expected to bounce back thereafter. Also, the dearth of new launches, declining inventory of unsold private homes in the OCR and RCR as well as firm new launch prices will continue to see some buyers shifting their interest to the resale segment.

In addition, some buyers may prefer ready-built homes in the resale market to avoid uncertainties around completion delays for new projects. Hence, we expect the overall demand for resale private homes to remain fairly resilient in 2022.

Despite the slowdown in sales, condo resale prices continued to grow at a slightly faster pace, rising by 1% from November to December 2021. When compared to December 2020, prices were up by 10.3% last month, the SRX noted. By sub-markets, resale prices rose by 1.1%, 1.0% and 0.6% in the RCR, OCR and CCR, respectively in December compared to the previous month.

Based on caveats lodged on URA Realis, the average transacted absolute price for resale non-landed homes has increased from $1.66 million in November 2021 to $1.70 million last month. Overall, we anticipate that condo resale prices may stay relatively stable in 2022, supported by demand from owner-occupiers and HDB upgraders, as well as en bloc hopefuls potentially withholding units from sale, which could keep resale condo supply tight.

However, resale prices of CCR homes may have limited upside potential as demand from foreigners and investors will likely moderate due to the increased ABSD rates