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Mid-to-high end properties pick up in cooling market
15 Jan 2010
Private property sales for December 2009 saw another drop to a mere 481 transactions, down 20% from November’s 600 transactions and second-lowest for 2009 only to January.
“It is evident that the mass market has satiated its demand,” observes PropNex CEO Mr Mohamed Ismail, pointing out that a mere 25.4% of the transactions, or 122 transactions, came from properties priced below the $1,000psf mark. This is the lowest percentage for this sector in the last 18 months.
Another sign that the mass market has slowed down is the fact that only three projects launched over 100 units each in December: Silversea, The Shore Residences and Waterfront Key, and none of these exceeded 150 units launched. This is a far cry from the peak of July 2009, which saw nine projects launch over 100 units each, with one even launching 400 units.
“However, it is prudent to point out that December is a traditionally slow period for launches,” cautions Mr Ismail.
Conversely, the mid-to-high end property market showed strong signs of life, accounting for 74.6% of all transactions, or 359 transactions.
“The evidence is telling,” states Mr Ismail. “The property market has cooled down and prices have stabilized. Serious investors are now emerging with greater confidence, picking up reasonably priced properties in good locations.”
He gave examples of The Shore Residences at Amber Road (median sale price of $1,144psf), Parvis at Holland Hill (median sale price of $1,495psf) and Espada at St. Thomas Road (median sale price of $2,337psf).
“Given the imminent Government announcements on regulations for the property market, which should inspire greater investor confidence we expect a continued growth for the mid-to-high end markets for 2010,” concludes Mr Ismail, “while the mass market should recover in terms of volume of sales with the intended launches by developers.”
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For enquiries, please contact:
Mohamed Ismail (CEO) 9487 1414
Adam Tan (Corporate Communications Manager) 9006 8726
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