Singapore new private home sales halved in April from previous month

SINGAPORE - New private home sales in Singapore more than halved in April from the previous month, indicating that March's record number was a one-off spike rather than a sustained surge in demand.

Singapore has been trying to cool its housing market, fueled by near record-low interest rates and an influx of foreigners.

Developers sold 1,375 homes in April, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data, down from 2,793 units in the preceding month which was the highest figure since Singapore began publishing monthly figures.

Property consultants had said March's record sales were due to multiple new launches of condominium projects in popular areas aided by sharp discounting, and were hence not sustainable.

Including executive condominiums (ECs), a category of apartments for middle-income Singaporeans, April's new private home sales totalled 1,547 units compared with March's 3,072 units.