The property market has taken a big tumble in the month of September.
According to latest statistics from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), property developers launched and sold fewer units in September than in the previous month. There were just 570 new units released for sale, down from 1,885 in August or a drop of 70 percent.
And in terms of transactions, only 529 units changed hands - also down by 70 percent from 1,731 in the previous month.
The numbers suggest that investor confidence was hit amid the turmoil in the financial markets.
Meanwhile, the median selling price also took a hit - of 28 per cent - from S$1,328 to S$960 psf.
Property watchers say the drop was due to the sub-prime credit woes in the US.
Nicholas Mak, Director, Consultancy and Research, Knight Frank, said: "Investors' confidence also evaporated. As a result developers held back many of their launches.
"And also some buyers, especially those who are from the high-end property segment... were also adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Everybody was waiting for the sky to clear, for clearer signals to come out before proceeding with their investments."
The numbers were among the lowest since the URA started releasing monthly figures in June. Still, there were some developments that managed to buck the downtrend.
Mr Mak said: "For example, Hill Crest Villa located at Bukit Timah. It's landed cluster housing development and sold at record prices at roughly about S$865 psf. This is quite high for such a development.
"And also another development is Scotts Square at Scotts Road, where roughly about 12 units were reported to be sold over S$4,000 psf in the month of September."
Looking ahead, analysts say they expect the numbers to rebound in October.
Knight Frank noted that August was an exceptional month in terms of units launched and sold; and there are more developments expected in the pipeline.
Analysts say this latest URA report will not affect en bloc activities significantly. However, players in the en bloc market will be observing next month's report closely to see if the numbers go up. - CNA/ch
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