The latest data from URA shows that new private home sales in February remained strong, driven by new project launches. A total of 1,575 units (excluding ECs) were sold, marking a 45.4% increase from January’s 1,083 units.
Compared to the same period last year, February’s figures were more than 10 times higher than the 153 units sold in February 2024. Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia, also noted that this was the highest February sales figure in 13 years, since 2,417 units were sold in February 2012. When including ECs, a total of 1,604 units were sold last month, up 45.3% from January.
Notably, developers have sold a total of 2,658 units (excluding ECs) since the start of the year, compared to eight months it took to reach a similar figure last year, according to Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
The strong showing in February was largely due to the launch of two major projects 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 best-selling project. Meanwhile, the latter recorded 326 units sold at a median price of $2,538 psf. Both projects are located in suburban neighbourhoods with limited new supply in the past five years, contributing to their robust sales performances.
Including these two projects, a total of 1,694 units were launched for sale in February, a significant increase of 89% from the 896 units launched the previous month. In addition, the majority of sales (92%) were in the OCR, reflecting the highest monthly showing in nine years, according to Wong Siew Ying, PropNex Realty’s head of research and content. In comparison, the Rest of Central Region (RCR) made up just 98 or 6.2% of the total units sold in February, with the top-performing project being Pinetree Hill in the RCR.
Meanwhile, sales in the Core Central Region (CCR) accounted for 1.6% of developers’ sales, with just 25 units sold in February. The best-performing project in this region was 19 Nassim, which recorded five units sold at a median price of $3,372 psf, followed by four units at One Bernam, which is now fully sold.
In terms of buyer profile, Singapore citizens made up the bulk of new private home buyers (92.4%), followed by permanent residents (6.9%). 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.
In February, a record number of 603 new private homes (including ECs) in the OCR were sold for at least $2 million, the highest figure since URA data became available in 1995, according to Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group. This reflects a trend of narrowing price gaps between regions, with the average unit prices of recent launches showing that it may no longer always be the case that property prices follow a pecking order of CCR, RCR, and OCR. For instance, average unit prices of recent CCR launches have been lower than RCR projects such as Union Square Residences and The Orie.
Looking ahead, new launches in the coming months may not all perform equally well, with homebuyer demand largely being dependent on the specific location and property attributes of each project. However, with the strong start to the year, ERA Singapore has revised its projection for the whole of 2025 to between 8,500 and 9,000 units, up from its previous projection of 7,000 to 8,000 units. Huttons’ Lee estimates that developers sales (excluding ECs) could exceed 3,200 units for the first quarter, making it the highest first-quarter sales since 2021.