As we approach the end of 2015, we have seen more than 7000 new private non-landed residential homes launched in the market despite gloomy sentiments which have been accumulating since the last property cooling measure (the Total Debt Servicing Ratio) was introduced in June 2013. Here is the full update on- How well did new launches in 2015 perform?
Even with new lending rules in place, a couple of new launch projects this year have recorded sales which were above market expectations and this is definitely an encouraging sign for the property market in Singapore.
Let’s take a look at the numbers below as we review the performance of the new launches in 2015.
| PROJECT NAME | TENURE | LOCATION | TOTAL NO. OF UNITS | MONTH OF LAUNCH | EST. NO. OF UNITS SOLD ON LAUNCH DAY | EST. TOTAL UNITS SOLD TO DATE (20 DEC 2015) | AVERAGE PSF |
| SYMPHONY SUITES | 99-YEAR | YISHUN CLOSE | 660 | Jan-15 | 54 | 169 | S$1,027 |
| MARINE BLUE | FREEHOLD | MARINE PARADE ROAD | 124 | Jan-15 | 31 | 33 | S$1,834 |
| KINGSFORD WATERBAY | 99-YEAR | UPPER SERANGOON VIEW | 1165 | Feb-15 | 140 | 300 | S$1,110 |
| SIMS URBAN OASIS | 99-YEAR | SIMS DRIVE | 1024 | Feb-15 | 112 | 342 | S$1,384 |
| BOTANIQUE AT BARTLEY | 99-YEAR | UPPER PAYA LEBAR RD | 797 | Mar-15 | 254 | 531 | S$1,287 |
| NORTH PARK RESIDENCES | 99-YEAR | YISHUN CENTRAL | 920 | Mar-15 | 400 | 498 | S$1,368 |
| HILBRE 28 | 999-YEARS | HILLSIDE DRIVE | 28 | Apr-15 | 3 | 12 | S$1,323 |
| POLLEN & BLEU | 99-YEAR | FARRER DRIVE | 106 | May-15 | 10 | 12 | S$1,922 |
| HIGH PARK RESIDENCES | 99-YEAR | FERNVALE ROAD | 1390 | Jun-15 | 1100 | 1272 | S$988 |
| ADANA @ THOMSON | FREEHOLD | OLD UPPER THOMSON ROAD | 74 | Jul-15 | 21 | 39 | S$1,617 |
| PRINCIPAL GARDEN | 99-YEAR | PRINCE CHARLES CRESCENT | 663 | Oct-15 | 120 | 158 | S$1,628 |
| THOMSON IMPRESSIONS | 99-YEAR | LORONG PUNTONG | 87 | Oct-15 | 288 | 105 | S$1,412 |
| THE POIZ RESIDENCES | 99-YEAR | MEYAPPA CHETTIAR ROAD | 731 | Nov-15 | 260 | 319 | S$1,431 |
** Note: Source from SquareFoot Research and URA
Based on the statistics above, High Park Residences is by far the most popular among all the new launches in 2015, mainly due to its lowly priced units (from as low as S$374,000 for a studio unit).
However, the demand for new launch developments has remained subdued as there are still 3,979 unsold units out of the 7,769 residential homes launched in total in 2015, which is approximately 51.2% of balance units left.
Then again, with this large amount of unsold new homes in the property market right now (not including those from 2013 and 2014), how many more new homes are we expecting from 2016? Let’s take a look at some of the possible upcoming new launches in 2016 based on the land sales this year:
| LOCATION | PLANNING AREA | SITE AREA (SQFT) | NO. OF BIDS RECEIVED | DEVELOPER | WINNING BID | WINNING PSF PPR | EXPECTED NO. OF UNITS |
| CLEMENTI AVE 1 | CLEMENTI | 140,339 | 6 | SINGLAND AND UOL | S$302.1m | S$651.68 | 500 |
| ALEXANDRA VIEW | BUKIT MERAH | 150,712 | 10 | TANG SKYLINE PTE LTD | S$376.88m | S$851 | 400 |
| LORONG LEW LIAN | SERANGOON | 203,533 | 11 | VERWOOD HOLDINGS PTE LTD, INTREPID INVESTMENTS PTE LTD AND TID RESIDENTIAL PTE LTD | S$321m | S$710 | 500 |
| WEST COAST VALE | CLEMENTI | 168,569 | 6 | EL DEVELOPMENT PTE LTD | S$314.1m | S$551 | 600 |
| TAMPINES AVENUE 10 (PARCEL D) | TAMPINES | 422,279 | 12 | MCC LAND (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD | S$227.78m | S$482.58 | 490 |
| STURDEE ROAD | KALLANG | 191,637 | 16 | SL CAPITAL (1) PTE LTD | S$181.19m | $787.90 | 270 |
| JURONG WEST STREET 41 (PARCEL B) | JURONG WEST | 17,804 | 9 | MCL LAND (VANTAGE) PTE LTD | S$338.12m | S$630.13 | 600 |
| UPPER SERANGOON ROAD / TAMPINES ROAD | HOUGANG | 108,684 | 11 | ASSET LEGEND | S$276.8m | S$848.84 | 340 |
| DUNDEE ROAD | QUEENSTOWN | 113,021 | 9 | HY REALTY | S$483.2m | S$871 | 645 |
| TOA PAYOH LORONG 4 / LORONG 6 | TOA PAYOH | 131,319 | 14 | EVIA REAL ESTATE, GREATEARTH AND GAMUDA BHD | S$345.86m | S$755 | 535 |
** Note: Source from URA and various news articles
As compared to 2015, the Singapore property market should expect approximately 4,880 non-landed private residential units being launched in 2016. This number is 37.2% lesser than what we’ve seen in 2015.
In our opinion, the highlight of 2016 could be the new launch at Alexandra View located just next to Redhill MRT Station. Given the significantly lower land cost (as compared to its nearby projects) which is a clear advantage in terms of pricing, it remains to be seen how Tang Skyline Pte. Ltd. will position the new development upon launch.