Condominium resale prices and volumes both rose further in March, buoyed by a strong interest in buying properties in the OCR (Outside of the Central Region).

On Tuesday (Apr 25), flash estimates from SRX, DpFraternity, and 99. co were issued showing that resale prices had increased by 1.4% month over month and 8.6% year over year.

This is because shoppers have started coming back to the market following the winter break and the Lunar New Year. Real estate experts have also seen an increase in transactions involving overseas buyers.

Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip speculated that demand in the resale condo market might be supported by demand from HDB (Housing and Development Board) upgraders and overseas ultra-high-net-worth people who are migrating to Singapore.

Condo resales increased by 53.9% from February 2023, when there were 736 resales to this month’s total of 1,133 resales. The month of March had an increase in volume of 0.2% compared to the previous year, and 13.9% compared to the average volume of March for the previous five years.

Nearly half of all condo resale transactions took place in the OCR, followed by 28.8 percent in the RCR and 21.4 percent in the CCR.

The largest increase in resale value was seen for the OCR (2.1%), while the RCR (1.6%) came in second. In contrast, CCR resale prices fell by 0.7% over the same time period.

All regional resale prices increased from one year ago, with the OCR growing by 11%, the RCR by 9.4%, and the CCR by 4.1%.

Eugene Lim, ERA’s chief executive officer, said that although the OCR brought in the most trades, there were proportionally more resale transactions in the other areas throughout the month, with the CCR witnessing the highest increase in volume.

Those “buyers with the cash and liquidity are taking the opportunity to pick up prime homes for their own stay or as longer-term investments,” he said.

According to Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, the widening price disparity between resale and new condominiums may have prompted some purchasers to go elsewhere.

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