Singapore home sales off to best start since 2021 before Budget
By Low De Wei
(Bloomberg) – Singapore home sales had their best January in four years, as market watchers look out for potential cooling measures in the country's upcoming budget.
Developers sold 1,083 private units in the first month of the year, according to data released Monday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. That's more than triple the 304 reported in the same month last year, and the best start to a year since 2021.
A revival in home sales in recent months has driven speculation about the potential for fresh market curbs, with housing affordability a key voter concern ahead of elections due this year. One possible avenue for tightening would be in the budget to be announced Tuesday.
The January increase was dominated by the launch of a new project, the Orie, in the city's north that sold about 88% of its 777 units available. That continued a streak of suburban projects which drove sales to their highest level in more than a decade last year. The trend may persist with more major launches planned this month, including one boasting 1,193 units in the east.
The rebound has prompted analysts at Barclays, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to flag the risk of new curbs. The city-state has introduced multiple steps to cool prices in recent years, including a stamp duty hike on most foreigner buyers to 60% in 2023.
National Development Minister Desmond Lee told developers this month that the private property market has 'shown signs of stabilising' due to an injection of supply. He also said in an earlier interview that the government is 'not averse' to implementing more cooling measures if needed.
Analysts at Malayan Banking interpreted the remarks to mean that more housing curbs aren't likely during the budget, with the government preferring to see the effect of supply measures first.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
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