Singapore Home Sales in May Rise to Highest Since June 2013

Singapore’s home sales rose in May

to their highest in almost a year as developers marketed new

projects amid declining prices, a government report showed.

Home sales rose to 1,470 units last month from 749 units in

April, according to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority

released today. They were at the highest since June 2013 and

increased 0.8 percent from the same month a year ago, the data

showed.

Sales picked up in Asia’s second-most expensive housing

market last month as developers resold projects at discounted

prices to lure buyers. First-quarter home prices in the island-state slid for a second consecutive quarter, data released by

the URA on April 25 showed, after the government introduced loan

measures last June, widening a campaign that started in 2009 to

curb speculation in the Southeast Asian city.

“Developers have launched more projects last month and

that’s led to renewed buying activity as few were relaunched at

discounted prices,” said Nicholas Mak, an executive director at

SLP International Property Consultants in Singapore.

“Developers are pricing their projects more reasonably.”

Among the developers that began sales of their projects was

Hong Realty (Private) Ltd., which sold 590 of 600 units marketed

at its Coco Palms project in the east of the city-state,

according to the URA. Wealthall Development Pte started

marketing its condominium project selling 275 of 400 units

marketed, the data showed.

Under the loan measures, lenders must consider a borrower’s

debt when granting mortgages, the Monetary Authority of

Singapore said last June. Home loans should not lead to a

borrower’s total debt-servicing ratio rising above 60 percent

and those that do will be considered imprudent, it said.

Mortgage loan growth at 7.3 percent in April was the

slowest pace since June 2007, according to data compiled by

Bloomberg based on the latest central bank figures.

Singapore was the most-expensive city to buy a luxury home

in Asia after Hong Kong, property broker Knight Frank LLP said

in a wealth report in April.

To contact the reporter on this story:

Pooja Thakur in Singapore at

pthakur@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:

Andreea Papuc at

apapuc1@bloomberg.net

Tomoko Yamazaki, Iain McDonald

Singapore Home Sales in May Rise to Highest Since June 2013