February saw a continued surge in new private home sales, as developers launched fresh projects and sparked strong buyer demand. According to data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on March 17, 1,575 units were sold (excluding executive condos) last month, representing a 45.4% increase from the 1,083 units sold in January.
Compared to the same month last year, February’s new home sales were more than 10 times higher than the 153 units sold in February 2024. According to Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia, this is also the highest February developer sales figure in 13 years, surpassing the 2,417 units sold in February 2012. Including executive condos, a total of 1,604 units were sold last month, marking a 45.3% increase from January.
Singapore’s cityscape is distinguished by towering skyscrapers and state-of-the-art facilities. Condos, strategically situated in desirable neighborhoods, offer a combination of opulence and accessibility that caters to the interests of both locals and foreigners. These properties are equipped with a diverse range of luxuries, including swimming pools, fitness centers, and top-notch security measures, elevating the living standards and making them a desirable choice for prospective tenants and buyers. Moreover, these desirable features also translate into significant returns for investors, as they can expect higher rental incomes and appreciation of their property values in the long run. Condos have truly transformed the real estate market in Singapore, offering a sought-after lifestyle and solid investment opportunities.
Since the beginning of the year, developers have sold a total of 2,658 units (excluding executive condos). In comparison, it took them eight months to reach a similar figure last year, notes Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
The strong performance in February was driven by two major launches in the Outside Central Region (OCR): The 1,193-unit ParkTown Residence in Tampines North and the 501-unit Elta on Clementi Avenue 1. The former sold 1,041 units at a median price of $2,363 psf, making it the top-selling project for the month. The units sold translated to an 87% take-up rate at the integrated project, which is jointly developed by UOL Group and CapitaLand Development. Elta, on the other hand, was the second-best performing project, with 65.1% or 326 units sold by developers MCL Land and CSC Land Group at a median price of $2,538 psf. Song from CBRE points out that both ParkTown Residence and Elta are located in suburban neighborhoods that have not seen supply for at least five years, contributing to the projects’ robust performances.
Including these two projects, a total of 1,694 units were launched in February, representing a significant increase of 89% from the 896 units launched the month before. Moreover, developers’ sales in the OCR totaled 1,452 units, accounting for a staggering 92% of total new private homes sold in February. This reflects the best monthly showing for the OCR in over nine years since 1,523 units were sold in July 2015, says Wong Siew Ying, PropNex Realty’s head of research and content. Sales in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) made up 98 or 6.2% of units sold in February. The top-selling RCR project was the existing launch Pinetree Hill, which moved 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 developers’ sales last month. The best-selling CCR project was 19 Nassim, which moved five units at a median price of $3,372 psf. Four units were also sold at One Bernam at a median price of $2,651 psf. One Bernam, which launched for sale in May 2021, is now fully sold.
In terms of buyer profile, Singapore citizens continued to make up the bulk of new private home buyers at 92.4%, followed by permanent residents at 6.9%, notes Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia. Foreigners accounted for 11 new home purchases, including the two most expensive transactions in February – the sale of two units at 32 Gilstead for $14.47 million and $14.61 million.
A total of 603 new private homes (including executive condos) in the OCR were sold for at least $2 million in February, observes Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group. This marks the highest number of new suburban homes sold at this price range in a single month since URA data first became available in 1995. “The previous record was in November 2024, with 512 new homes in the OCR sold for at least $2 million,” she adds. Of the 603 OCR homes that traded for at least $2 million, 596 are non-landed homes, comprising mostly units from ParkTown Residence (397 units), Elta (145 units), and Hillock Green (16 units).
Wong from PropNex notes that the average unit prices of recent launches have “decoupled from the sub-market where these projects are located”. She explains that while property prices generally follow a pecking order led by the CCR, followed by the RCR and then the OCR, recent launches indicate that may no longer always be the case. Wong points out that The Collective at One Sophia, a CCR project that launched in November, sold 73 units at an average unit price of $2,743 psf, based on URA data until the end of February. “This is lower than the average transacted price of units sold at Union Square Residences ($3,175 psf) in the RCR and only slightly higher than that of The Orie ($2,734 psf), also in the RCR,” she continues.
Meanwhile, recent OCR launches such as Chuan Park, Elta, and Bagnall Haus have registered average unit prices of $2,589 psf, $2,544 psf and $2,489 psf, respectively, surpassing RCR project Nava Grove, which logged an average unit price of $2,460 psf. Wong believes the narrowing price gaps between regions could be due to various factors, including site-specific attributes of projects, amenity-driven pricing, demand by HDB upgraders, and the location of certain projects on the cusp of the CCR.
Wong predicts that prices could further converge in the coming months as new RCR projects located just off the CCR come to market, such as One Marina Gardens in Marina South and future developments on Zion Road residential sites.
The strong momentum in developers’ sales is expected to be sustained in March, supported by recent launches such as the 477-unit Lentor Central Residences, the 188-unit Aurea, and the 760-unit Aurelle of Tampines EC. “As of mid-March, these projects have collectively sold over 1,150 units, promising a strong closing to the quarter,” comments Marchus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. In light of the robust first-quarter sales, ERA has revised its new private home sales projection for the whole of 2025 to between 8,500 and 9,000 units, up from its previous range of 7,000 to 8,000.
Huttons’ Lee is estimating developers’ sales (excluding executive condos) to exceed 3,200 units in the first quarter of the year. This would make it the highest first-quarter sales since 2021, he adds. Going into the second quarter, new launches lined up potentially include the 358-unit Bloomsbury Residences, the 937-unit One Marina Gardens, the 638-unit W Residences Singapore – Marina View, and the 107-unit Arina East Residences. However, despite the strong momentum established at the start of the year, not all projects launched in the coming months may perform equally well, notes Knight Frank’s Tay. “Homebuyer demand will largely be dependent on the specific location and property attributes of each specific new project launch, with some projects doing better than others,” he says.…