New Private Home Sales Hit Three-Month Low in May With Only One Major Launch

The relatively sluggish home sales came mainly from a quieter project launch calendar. Only Hudson Place Residences was launched during the month, noted Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of content and research.

Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, said that the volume of new project launches remains the key driver of monthly sales performance, with the supply of fresh units having a greater influence on buyer demand than broader geopolitical uncertainties.

Hudson Place Residences sold 64 per cent or 209 of its 327 units at a median price of S$2,465 per square foot. Sales at the one-north project accounted for about 47 per cent of developers’ sales in May, said Wong. About 80 per cent of units changed hands at below S$2.5 million, a price point that remains a sweet spot for many owner-occupier buyers.

Source: URA, Huttons Data Analytics

Developers sold about 4,008 new homes in the first five months of 2026. Tricia Song, CBRE Singapore and South-east Asia head of research, said: “While 2026 got off to a rocky start… homebuying appetite has remained resilient despite heightened volatility and economic uncertainty, amid low mortgage rates and a decent pipeline of attractive new launches.”

New home sales are expected to remain subdued during the June school holidays, and then rebound in July as new projects, including Lentor Garden Residences and Dunearn House, hit the market.

Knight Frank’s Tay added that expectations that the US Federal Reserve may hold off on further rate hikes in 2026 could provide clarity to borrowing costs for the rest of the year. “Against this backdrop, underlying demand for well-located and sensibly priced new launches is likely to remain supported,” he explained.

Among the three segments, the Rest of Central Region (RCR) led in condo and private apartment sales, accounting for about three-quarters of sales. The Outside Central Region accounted for about 20 per cent of primary sales, and the Core Central Region just about 5 per cent of new sales last month.

Singaporean buyers made up 89.6 per cent of the purchases in May, while foreigners accounted for just 1.8 per cent of total transactions. Top purchases included a S$19.8 million detached house in Mount Rosie sold to a Singaporean, and two units in 32 Gilstead and Skywaters Residences sold to two permanent residents for S$14.49 million and S$14.48 million, respectively, noted Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip.

Including ECs, 493 units were sold in May with 357 units launched; in May 2025, 336 units were sold and 20 were launched. In April 2026, 1,649 units were sold and 1,426 units were launched.

Coastal Cabana emerged as the second-best-selling project last month. Since its launch in January, the project has sold over 81 per cent of its 748 units. Some of the renewed interest may have stemmed from the recent tightening of executive condo rules, including a higher allocation of units to first-time buyers and longer minimum occupation period, said SRI head of research and data analytics Mohan Sandrasegeran.

ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu noted that new launches in the RCR next year are likely to establish new benchmark prices for new homes, following high land rates for government land sale sites such as Dover Drive and Tanjong Rhu Road.