A BUMPER crop of private homes is set to hit the market in the second half of 2025, with projects large and small putting more than 9,000 units in the pipeline for the rest of the year.
A CBRE Research note released on May 15 indicated that 35 upcoming projects, including landed homes and executive condominiums, could be launched over the rest of the year, yielding a total of 9,339 units. A total of 5,320 new condos were marketed in 10 launches since January.
Of the launches being lined up, 19 projects offering 5,487 units are in the Core Central Region (CCR), 10 launches with 1,157 units are in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), and six Outside Central Region (OCR) projects will launch 2,695 units in total.
Buyers can be expected to hold steady, with demand likely to stay firm across projects, said market watchers.
Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, said: “Buyers still have housing needs to fulfil. The launches will help to meet this demand in terms of both size and product offerings.”
He noted that 2,407 caveats were lodged for new condos in Q1 2025 – more than the 1,946 caveats in Q4 2024 – and the median price of new homes was $2,675 per sq ft (psf) in Q1 2025, up from $2,654 psf in the previous quarter.
The total value of luxury non-landed homes sold in Q1 was $1.6 billion, 6.1 per cent higher than in Q4 2024 and 59.9 per cent higher year-on-year.
“Some buyers are making opportunistic offers, but there is little sign of distress in the rest of the non-landed market at the moment,” said Yip in the quarterly Singapore View report released on May 14.
ET&Co (formerly Edmund Tie & Company) expects residential prices to rise further, based on positive vibes from the upcoming Government Land Sales (GLS) – a trend that should help support market stability and sustain healthy transaction activity.
That said, PropertyGuru’s Lee expects developers to be more measured in their land bids for sites, as several analysts have cited the recent bid for the Media Circle site.
He also said developers have slowed down from the quick-fire pace that marked the government land tenders of 2024 and in Q1 of this year.
Citi analyst Brandon Lee also expects lower land bids in the near future. He wrote in a report that the slower home sales “could result in more attractive land prices for eight upcoming government tenders from May to September”.
Apart from site-specific factors, developers are also cautious on the back of the US tariff announcements.
The tender for the Media Circle plot which drew no takers was the first to close since the US announced its import tariff hikes.
Developers were also said to be discouraged by the lacklustre performance this month at the nearby Bloomsbury Residences, which sold just a quarter of its total 358 units at an average price of S$2,747 per square foot.
The cool response to Bloomsbury Residences aside, a further supply of about 25 private homes is expected in the area near the Media Circle Parcel A, which was the only bid site that attracted a lone bid at S$1,107 psf per plot ratio.
PropertyGuru’s Lee expects prices will remain resilient:
“If they price (the units) evenly – which especially with non-landed units is common – there is less pressure on the sellers or the developers. But once they restrict or segment those units, price sensitivity comes into play.”
He added that while development costs have risen, their margins may be further protected if the bidding price remains low.
Private home prices are expected to hover at between S$2,600 and S$2,800 psf this year, with landed properties likely to range from about S$1,000 to S$1,400 psf lower in January and February.
Credit: The Business Times
