About 14,500 new homes expected to be sold in 2009: CBRE

As many as 14,500 new homes are expected to be sold in the whole of 2009, second only to the record of 14,811 units in 2007.

Despite the high volume of sales, property consultancy CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said the caveats lodged to date showed that the total selling price paid for new homes in 2009 was 58 per cent of that in 2007.

CBRE said this was likely due to the dominance of mass market and mid-tier homes that were sold in 2009 compared to 2007, when high-end homes stole the limelight.

The strong take-up in the mid-tier segment only filtered upwards to the prime segment in the second half of 2009.

As a result, the number of units sold from the mass market and mid-tier segments made up about 60 per cent of the total sales quantum in 2009.

In contrast, back in 2007, it was the high-end projects in the Core Central Region or prime areas that made up over 64 per cent of the total sales quantum.

CBRE said the first half of 2010 will see a wider spread of project launches from the mass market to city fringe and to prime locations.

For mass market and city fringe 99-year leasehold projects, CBRE said prices are likely to cross the S$1,000 per square foot barrier because of their near-city location or if they are near an MRT station.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 14 Dec 2009