{"id":7869,"date":"2016-11-29T09:26:32","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T01:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=7869"},"modified":"2022-07-01T04:05:15","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T20:05:15","slug":"developer-sales-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/developer-sales-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s ahead for developer sales in 2017?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"The
The Alps Residences was one of the top selling projects in October 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2016 has been indeed a very tough year for the property market, but that said, it is not an entirely despondent picture. Although buyers remained cautious and selective in buying private properties, there were spurts of buying activity in developer sales for selected months. In October specifically, developers sold 1,252 private homes, way surpassing the 509 units in September.
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\nIn the first 10 months of 2016, developers sold 6,908 private homes, higher than the 6,386 units sold in the same period the year prior. Following this trend, It is very likely developer sales for the whole of 2016 will surpass the 7,440 units sold in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which are the notable star performer projects and what are their selling points?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The stellar private home sales figures of 1,252 residential units sold in October are well within expectations. October comes before the quieter year-end period marked by vacations and the festive period, so developers were keen on launching two mega projects before market winds down. These two projects were <\/span>Forest Woods<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>The Alps Residences<\/span><\/a>, both receiving good buyers\u2019 response. The exuberant private home sales in Oct was however very project-specific and it is unlikely that this indicates a possible turnaround in buyers\u2019 interest for private properties in 2016 as a whole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fig.1: Private residential projects that sold most units in October 2016\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Project Name<\/strong><\/td>\nCumulative Units Launched to-date<\/strong><\/td>\nCumulative Units Sold to-date<\/strong><\/td>\nCumulative Units Launched but Unsold<\/strong><\/td>\nUnits Sold in Oct 2016<\/strong><\/td>\nMedian Price ($psf) of units sold in Oct 2016<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FOREST WOODS<\/td>\n519<\/td>\n364<\/td>\n155<\/td>\n364<\/td>\n1,412<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
THE ALPS RESIDENCES<\/td>\n626<\/td>\n334<\/td>\n292<\/td>\n334<\/td>\n1,078<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
THE TRILINQ<\/td>\n600<\/td>\n452<\/td>\n148<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n1,411<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
THE GLADES<\/td>\n650<\/td>\n592<\/td>\n58<\/td>\n28<\/td>\n1,456<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RIVERBANK @ FERNVALE<\/td>\n510<\/td>\n491<\/td>\n19<\/td>\n26<\/td>\n988<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LAKE GRANDE<\/td>\n710<\/td>\n538<\/td>\n172<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n1,304<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SYMPHONY SUITES<\/td>\n368<\/td>\n354<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n1,083<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SOPHIA HILLS<\/td>\n493<\/td>\n147<\/td>\n346<\/td>\n23<\/td>\n1,946<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
THE SANTORINI<\/td>\n597<\/td>\n269<\/td>\n328<\/td>\n23<\/td>\n1,055<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SIMS URBAN OASIS<\/td>\n650<\/td>\n593<\/td>\n57<\/td>\n21<\/td>\n1,426<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: URA (monthly developer sales) for Oct 2016, R\u2019ST Research<\/em><\/p>\n

What can we learn from top selling projects in 2016? <\/b><\/h3>\n

In recent times, it is clear that there are two main factors that drive sales – competitive, attractive pricing, and unique selling points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A unique selling point could mean that the project is strategically located. If it is in Outside Central Region (OCR), ideally, it should be in a more accessible part compared to other suburban locations. For instance, Serangoon is definitely much more accessible to the city compared to Punggol and Sengkang. This explains why Forest Woods, situated near Serangoon MRT station, is a popular choice amongst buyers. As for The Alps Residences, it is located in the quaint yet increasingly developing Tampines Ave 10 locality. <\/span><\/p>\n

Any project that do not offer at least either of these two selling points are likely to witness a lukewarm reception from buyers. That said, if a project manages to fulfil either one of this criteria will generally be well received , and if it manages to fulfil both of them, then it has the potential of being sold quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Price trends for developer sales<\/b><\/h3>\n

Buyers now understand that there are value buys in each category of residential properties. They are especially sensitive to \u2018fair pricing\u2019 at the developer sales side, where prices tend to be non-negotiable. Buyers can only accept or walk away from the prices offered by developers, unlike resale properties where one can aggressively negotiate for lower prices. Within the private condo categories, the following pricing is the range of acceptable\/expected pricing to buyers: <\/span><\/p>\n