Condo Resale Volume Hits 2-Year High in August

The number of private non-landed homes resold hit a two-year high last month while prices firmed slightly in what observers see as another sign of the Singapore's property market's growing recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

An estimated 1,052 resale condominiums and apartments changed hands last month - up 7 per cent from July and 36.3 per cent higher than in August last year, according to flash figures from real estate portal SRX Property on Tuesday (Sept 8). The last highest volume was achieved in July 2018 - the month when property cooling measures were announced - when 1,100 units were resold.

For new home sales, July figures were also up 8.2%.

The strong demand from HDB upgraders was evidenced by mass market homes in the outside central region (OCR) accounting for nearly 60 per cent of August's resale transactions. As in July, this group of buyers have entered the private resale market in greater numbers, with many flats becoming eligible for resale recently by obtaining their five-year minimum occupation period.

Ms Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, said August's stellar resales of private homes seem to be in tandem with the positive sales trends observed in other market segments.

Last week's SRX flash estimate for August's HDB resale volume showed a similarly strong level of demand, as more than 2,400 HDB resale flats were transacted for a third consecutive month. August's HDB Build-to-Order sales launch had also been oversubscribed many times for a number of housing estates. Based on the latest Urban Redevelopment Authority caveat data, new home sales, excluding executive condominiums or ECs, also hit more than 1,200 units in August during the Hungry Ghost Month. This is the highest sales achieved over the last 12 months.