Singapore's Real Estate Market Surges with Near-Sellout Home Project
A private home project in Singapore saw a near sellout in its first weekend of sales, underscoring the city-state’s persistently hot residential market despite multiple rounds of government cooling measures.
The Skye at Holland, a development in one of the nation’s top expatriate enclaves, sold about 658, or nearly 99%, of its 666 units, according to a statement from the developers. The units were sold at an average price of S$2,953 ($2,277) per square foot.
The project had a “broad spectrum of buyers across all unit types purchasing for own stay and investment,” said a spokesperson for CapitaLand Development, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings Pte, and UOL Group Ltd., a local developer controlled by Singapore’s billionaire Wee clan. The majority of buyers were citizens or long-term residents.
The sales signal a widely expected boom after a quiet September, when developers paused project releases due to the overlap with the seventh lunar month, a period when home-buying is traditionally discouraged. An earlier buying frenzy drove a 1.2% rise in private-home prices in the third quarter, preliminary estimates show.
That boom, fueled by factors like intergenerational wealth transfer, falling interest rates, and wealthy foreigners with residency, is testing government efforts to curb excesses in one of the world’s priciest real-estate markets.
“Buyers were largely those staying in private properties in the vicinity, with some HDB upgraders,” said Mark Yip, chief executive officer of Huttons Asia Pte, which is marketing the project. Resale prices for homes built by the government’s Housing and Development Board (HDB), where most locals live, have also surged in recent years.
The strong sales at The Skye at Holland indicate a resilient demand for high-quality residential properties in Singapore, particularly in prime locations. This trend is likely to continue as the city-state remains an attractive destination for both local and international buyers.
