SINGAPORE, Dec 17 — Singapore’s new private home sales hit an 11-year high in November, driven by pent-up demand, improved sentiment, and a surge in launches.

Excluding executive condominiums (ECs), developers sold 2,557 new private homes last month, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday. This was the best performance since March 2013, when 2,793 units were sold.

Sales jumped 246.5 per cent from October’s 738 units and 226.1 per cent year-on-year from 784 units.

Most sales came from the Rest of Central Region (RCR), which recorded 1,569 units, followed by 890 in the Outside Central Region (OCR) and 98 in the Core Central Region (CCR).

Speaking to Channel News Asia (CNA), Christine Sun, senior vice president at OrangeTee Group, attributed the surge to pent-up demand and eased mortgage rates after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates in September.

“Many buyers were eager to take advantage of attractive deals as prominent projects launched simultaneously,” she was quoted as saying. November saw five private projects hit the market, the most since 2019.

Meanwhile, Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research at Singapore Realtors Inc, told CNA that developers timed launches strategically before the year-end holidays.

“Favourable borrowing conditions reignited buyer confidence,” he noted.

Key projects included Emerald of Katong, Chuan Park, and Nava Grove. Emerald of Katong sold 840 of 846 units at a median price of S$2,627 psf, while Chuan Park sold 721 of 916 units at S$2,586 psf.

“The strong performances of Chuan Park and Emerald of Katong highlight the appeal of large-scale projects with comprehensive facilities,” Sandrasegeran added.

The strong November figures exceeded any quarterly total since Q4 2021, when 3,018 units were transacted.

CNA reported Sun as cautioning that the surge might be temporary, predicting market stabilisation through the government’s land supply initiatives.

The first half of 2025 is expected to yield 5,030 private units, including 980 ECs, under the Government Land Sales Programme.

Sandrasegeran told CNA that he expects December sales to drop to 200-250 units due to fewer launches.

However, January 2025 could see momentum with The Orie’s launch in Toa Payoh, where no major projects have launched since 2016.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director at Huttons Asia, said unsatisfied demand may carry into 2025, keeping the outlook “cautiously optimistic.”