Singapore residential sales to reach 14,000-16,000 units this year

That is down from the original forecast of 18,000.

Singapore’s housing market appears to be in a quiet phase after nearly 20,000 homes were completed in 2023 and interest rates look set to remain higher for much of 2024, according to a report by Knight Frank.

Homebuyers remain more selective and no longer exhibit the kind of urgency and fear of missing out (FOMO) behavior at show flats that characterized the market from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2022.

Here’s more from Knight Frank:

Buyers scouring the new home market will still take their time to find the right project with features that suit their lifestyle preferences. High-profile new launches that could stimulate market activity have also failed to materialize, against a backdrop of homebuyers sitting on the sidelines and reluctant to commit to a purchase.

With secondary sales leading the market, Knight Frank expects total residential sales volume for the whole of 2024 to fall between 14,000 and 16,000, down from the 15,000 to 18,000 units initially forecast. In the new sales market, it is now more than likely that the projected total for 2024 will be between 4,000 and 6,000 units, significantly lower than the 7,000 to 9,000 primary transactions originally expected.

Despite this, residential property prices are expected to rise by 3% to 5% for the year as a whole. This is due to new-build prices, which are the result of higher land costs set some 12 to 18 months ago, and current high construction costs.