Singapore private home sales hit one-year high in July

REUTERS: Sales of private homes in Singapore rose to the highest level in a year in July, offering some signs that the market is starting to stabilise after recent weakness. Developers sold 1,091 units in July, data compiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed.

While that was down 34.1 percent on a year-on-year basis, it was more than double the 536 units sold in June and the highest since July 2015, when developers sold 1,655 units excluding executive condominiums. “It’s quite encouraging,” said Christine Li, head of research for Cushman and Wakefield in Singapore.

“I think more people are convinced that maybe it’s the right time to come in because the prices have come down by about 10 percent,” Li said, referring to how much private home prices have declined from a peak in 2013.

With authorities having said repeatedly that property cooling measures will remain in place, investors may be deciding to come into the market now rather than wait, Li said, adding that lower mortgage rates may also be supporting demand.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said last month that there had been a “measured decline” in property prices after the central bank introduced a series of property-cooling measures since 2009, but added that it was not yet time to ease such curbs. Separate data on Monday showed that total retail sales rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier in June, down from an upwardly revised 3.2 percent year-on-year increase in May.

Excluding motor vehicle sales, retail sales fell 3.0 percent in June from a year ago. “The underlying confidence of the consumer has been weighed down by the very modest growth, softer job markets,” said Song Seng Wun, an economist for CIMB Private Banking.

Recent data showed job layoffs in Singapore hit a seven-year high in the second quarter while the jobless rate edged higher, in a sign of growing labour market slack at a time when economic growth has been sluggish.