15 April 2025, Singapore - Developers' sales fell by 54.4% in March from February, with new home sales coming in at 729 units (ex. executive condos) compared with 1,597 units in February. The transaction volume in March is a substantial slowdown from the previous two months, where sales topped 1,000 units each. On a year-on-year basis, new private home sales in March were up marginally by 1.5% from the 718 units shifted in March 2024.

During the month, developers sold more new EC units than new private homes, helped by the stellar performance of Aurelle of Tampines EC, which moved 705 out of its 760 units in March. Aurelle of Tampines was one of the three new projects launched in March, with the other two being Lentor Central Residences and Aurea. In particular, Lentor Central Residences accounted for 63% of the total developers' sales in March, reflecting the resilient demand for mass market homes.

Developers launched 555 new units (ex. EC) for sale in March, marking a 67% decline from 1,694 units launched in February. Meanwhile, 760 new EC units at Aurelle of Tampines were put on the market in March.

Source: PropNex Research, URA (15 April 2025)

The Outside Central Region (OCR) led monthly new home sales for the second month running, with 596 new units (ex. EC) transacted in March. Still, the sales volume is a sharp drop from the 1,469 units sold in February, where the launch of Parktown Residence had propelled sales. The best-performing OCR project in March was Lentor Central Residences which moved 460 units at a median price of $2,213 psf (see Table 1). This was followed by Hillock Green - also in the Lentor Hills estate - which sold 21 units at a median price of $2,181 psf. As at the end of March, around 94% of the 2,954 new private homes across six new projects in the Lentor area have been sold.

Meanwhile, in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), developers sold 87 new units in March - the lowest monthly sales in three months, and down from the 100 units sold in February as there were no new launches in this sub-market during the month. The most popular RCR project in March was Pinetree Hill which sold 27 units at a median price of $2,581 psf. This is followed by The Continuum, and The Orie which transacted 12 and 10 units in March, respectively. Private new home sales in the RCR will pick up in April with the launch of two projects, Bloomsbury Residences in Media Circle and One Marina Gardens in Marina South. Over their launch weekend, the 358-unit Bloomsbury Residences transacted 90 units, while the 937-unit One Marina Gardens saw 353 units being sold.

Over in the Core Central Region (CCR), new private home sales rose by 64% to 46 units in March from 28 units in the previous month. The increase was driven by Aurea where 24 units were sold at a median price of $2,924 psf. It appears that the CCR new home sales market continues to be slow-going, and the market uncertainties brought about by the US tariffs and rising trade tensions between the US and China may potentially weigh on property investment interest in luxury homes. That being said, there is also a chance that the market activity in the CCR could shed some sluggishness, with more new launches lined up in attractive locations - near to the MRT station and close to more amenities and/or schools - that may come on later in the year. These include projects in Orchard Boulevard, Marina View, River Valley, and Holland Drive.

In the EC segment, developers sold a total of 781 new units, with Aurelle of Tampines accounting for the vast majority of the sales. The 760-unit Aurelle of Tampines shifted 705 EC units at a median price of $1,769 psf in March, and it is now fully sold after sales booking was opened to more second-timer buyers recently. The number of unsold new ECs in the market remains tight at around 70 units following the 100% take-up at Aurelle of Tampines.

Ms Wong Siew Ying, Head of Research & Content, PropNex Realty said:

"The slower new home sales (ex. EC) in March were mainly a result of the lack of mega projects being launched during the month. Collectively, the Aurea and Lentor Central Residences offer a total of 665 units, compared with nearly 1,700 units at Parktown Residence and ELTA which were launched in February. Lentor Central Residences drove sales during the month when it sold 96% of its units following its launch on 8 March. This took developers' sales in the mass market or OCR in Q1 2025 to 2,256 new homes (ex. EC), which is highest quarterly tally in about 12 years, since 2,760 OCR units were transacted in Q2 2013.

Meanwhile, ECs continue to be a hot favourite among eligible buyers, as reflected by the robust sales at Aurelle of Tampines. It also set a new benchmark transacted price for new ECs, as the average unit price hit $1,766 psf during its launch. Still, this represents a lower entry price than other new private condos, and we expect demand for new ECs to stay relatively resilient as it is largely driven by owner-occupiers.

Following the strong upturn in buyer sentiment in Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, market uncertainties have heightened considerably in early-April, as the US imposed sweeping tariffs on its trading partners, prompting a retaliation from China. Since then, the overall situation remains fluid and we expect global trade tensions will continue to sway market sentiment. As the property market is sentiment-driven, the downside risks and uncertainties brought about by the tariffs may influence home buying decisions, particularly among investors. Meanwhile, we anticipate demand from end-users purchasing a home for own stay could be more stable as they are in it for the long haul.

Despite the heightened caution and market turmoil in recent weeks, sales and take up rates at the two new launches in April - Bloomsbury Residences (25% take-up) and One Marina Gardens (38% take-up) - are quite positive in our view, and reflect a certain level of resilience in the private housing demand. Being the first projects to hit new housing precincts in Media Circle and Marina South, we expect transactions to pick up progressively as prospective buyers parse the evolving tariff situation. Boosted by Bloomsbury Residences and One Marina Gardens, we project April's developers' sales to likely trend at around March's level.

Generally, we expect that overall private home prices may remain sticky, underpinned by several factors including: 1) strong financial holding power among home owners and developers; 2) macroprudential/cooling measures implemented previously have helped to stabilised the market; and 3) high construction cost and land price limiting the scope for price cuts by developers.

In March, foreign buyers (non-PR) accounted for 1.4% of the new non-landed private home sales (ex. EC), or 10 caveats in absolute terms. These transactions are for units at Hillock Green, Lentor Central Residences, Lentor Mansion, Meyer Blue, Parktown Residence, The Avenir, Union Square Residences, and Watten House. Meanwhile, Singapore PRs and Singaporean buyers made up about 9% and 89% of the sales during the month, respectively.

Based on monthly home sales figures, developers have sold 3,409 new private homes (ex. EC) in Q1 2025 - already more than half of the 6,469 units transacted in the entire 2024. For now, PropNex is retaining its projections for new home sales at 8,000 to 9,000 units (ex. EC) this year, supported by the ample supply of new launches lined up. Meanwhile, we anticipate that overall private home prices may potentially climb by 3% to 4% in 2025, in view of more CCR and RCR projects that may be launched for sale."

Table 1: Top-Selling Private Residential Projects (ex. EC) in March 2025