Private property has shrunk yet more property agents joining

17-Jan 2024 Wednesday 2:43 PM (103 days ago)

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17-Jan 2024 Wednesday 2:44 PM (103 days ago)

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New private home sales fall 82.8% in December, sinking to lowest level since January 2009
SINGAPORE: New private home sales typically see a lull at the end of the year, however, sales in December sank to a near-15-year low.

Sales of new private homes last month fell 82.8 per cent from November, with developers selling just 135 units, data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday (Jan 15) showed. This figure excludes executive condominiums (ECs).

This is the lowest figure recorded since January 2009, when a mere 108 units were sold amid the global financial crisis, said OrangeTee & Tie's senior vice president of research and analytics Christine Sun.

A total of 784 units were sold in November 2023.

On a year-on-year basis, new private home sales fell 20.6 per cent last month from the 170 units sold in December 2022.

LACK OF LAUNCHES, YEAR-END HOLIDAYS

Property analysts attributed the lull in the market to the year-end holidays and the lack of major project launches during the period.

As December is "traditionally" a quieter period in the real estate market, a decline in the number of new home sales transactions was expected, said Mr Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at Singapore Realtors Inc.

"This slowdown is often attributed to the festive season and a general lack of new project launches during this time as potential buyers were likely preoccupied with holiday travel plans or personal commitments like weddings, diverting their attention away from property transactions," he said.

Just 36 new units were launched for sale last month – the second-lowest number seen since URA began releasing monthly data on launches and sales in July 2007.

In 2023, developers sold about 6,450 new private homes, excluding ECs. This is a "significant" drop of 9.1 per cent from 2022, Ms Sun said.

According to Ms Sun, this is the lowest annual sales figure recorded since 2008, when 4,264 units were sold.

"Last year's sales decline could be attributed to a combination of factors, including the property cooling measures in April 2023, (a) lack of project launches, macroeconomic uncertainty and interest rate hikes," she said.

Related:

In April, the government announced that foreigners buying any residential property in Singapore will have to pay an additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) of 60 per cent, up from 30 per cent.

ABSD rates for Singaporeans and permanent residents buying their second and subsequent residential properties were also increased.

Huttons Asia's senior director for research Lee Sze Teck said the higher ABSD on foreigners "did take away a substantial chunk of demand" from the property market.

According to Mr Lee, from January to May 2023, there were an estimated 235 residential property purchases by foreigners. This fell to 80 transactions from June to December 2023, showing the "effectiveness of the policy in reducing the purchases by foreigners".

LOOKING AHEAD

Mr Sandrasegeran said that he expects new private home sales to get a boost in January, with the launches of major non-landed projects such as Hillhaven and the Arcady at Boon Keng on the horizon.

"These new launches, strategically scheduled just before the Chinese New Year – a period when the market typically slows down – are poised to invigorate the new launch market and appeal to a diverse group of buyers and investors," he said.

Ms Sun said that about 30 new projects could be launch-ready this year, excluding ECs. This would add more than 12,000 new homes to Singapore's supply.

"Even if developers stagger their launches or face unforeseen circumstances, we still anticipate 23 launches, which could yield up to 8,800 units," she said.

As there will be more supply this year, some price pressures may be alleviated, said Ms Sun, who added that prices of new private homes were predicted to climb by about 2 per cent to 4 per cent this year.

Source: CNA/lk(kg)

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17-Jan 2024 Wednesday 2:44 PM (103 days ago)

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They watch Zoe Tay era drama Liao inspired ?

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17-Jan 2024 Wednesday 6:43 PM (103 days ago)

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Number of property agents in Singapore continues to rise amid slower private home sales
Joyce Lim

As at Dec 31, 2023, 96 per cent of property agents with a valid registration in 2023 renewed it for 2024. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
SINGAPORE – Despite a challenging year that saw the property market dampened by several rounds of cooling measures and high interest rates, the overall number of agents across real estate agencies here continued to rise, albeit at a more tempered rate.

The latest figures from the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) showed there were a total of 35,251 property agents in the industry as at Jan 1, 2024. This is up from 34,427 agents at the start of 2023, and 32,414 at the beginning of 2022.

PropNex maintained its position as the largest agency, with its sales force headcount rising about 3 per cent from January 2023 to 12,017 agents as at Jan 10, 2024.

ERA is the second-biggest with 8,918 agents, up from 8,344, followed by Huttons Asia with 5,310 agents. OrangeTee & Tie is in fourth place with 2,817 agents, while SRI is fifth with 1,291 agents, according to data from the CEA portal.

OrangeTee & Tie, which tumbled out of the top three rankings in 2022, is the only one among the top five agencies to register a drop of about 11 per cent year on year in its sales force headcount. Meanwhile, Huttons recorded the highest growth of close to 9 per cent.

A CEA spokeswoman told The Straits Times that 2,170 new property agents joined the sector in 2023. This was lower than the 2,179 agents who joined in 2022 and 2,308 agents in 2021.

As at Dec 31, 2023, 96 per cent of property agents with a valid registration in 2023 renewed it for 2024.

Market observers noted that challenges loom for agencies as they grapple with the task of increasing productivity amid a 15 per cent drop in the number of private homes sold in 2023 from the year before, to the lowest levels since 2016.

Private home prices also grew at a slower pace of 6.7 per cent in 2023, compared with 8.6 per cent in 2022.

Amid this backdrop and a tougher business landscape, the top agencies witnessed substantial shifts in their senior management ranks.

OrangeTee & Tie appointed Mr Justin Quek as its new chief executive with effect from Jan 1, 2024. In December, the former chief operating officer of ERA Singapore, Mr Thomas Tan, joined SRI as chief executive.

PropNex, too, unveiled a new leadership masterplan to fortify its position, appointing Mr Kelvin Fong as deputy chief executive and Mr Eddie Lim as chief agency officer.

On why more agents are still coming aboard despite the challenges confronting the industry, ERA Singapore key executive officer Eugene Lim said the profession’s dynamic and fast-paced nature resonates with younger people who are fresh out of university or who join the sector after a career switch from another field.

“Additionally, the consistent influx of new, aspiring home owners and upgraders each year reinforces the need for a growing sales force to meet evolving market demands,” he added.

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17-Jan 2024 Wednesday 6:43 PM (103 days ago)

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PropNex executive chairman and chief executive Ismail Gafoor said: “The global uncertainty, economic slowdown, rising interest rates, growing price resistance and cautious sentiments are some of the challenges in the market among home buyers in 2023. Thus, the sales force may need more guidance and direction in improving their productivity.”

In 2023, there were 851 newly registered property agents who joined PropNex, said Mr Gafoor.

“Our focus in 2024 is to grow our market share by expanding our team of salespersons and enhancing operational productivity by leveraging technology development and training programmes,” he added.

An OrangeTee & Tie spokesman said the agency’s performance in 2023 was affected by the tougher external landscape for the business from market volatility and policy changes.

In the midst of an evolving real estate landscape, and changing client demographics and preferences, senior management changes will help the agency “stay ahead of the curve”, said the spokesman, who anticipates moderate performance in the property sector for 2024.

He also emphasised the need for agents to adapt to technological advancements that may impact their roles.

The focus for the firm includes closely monitoring technological developments, aligning with consumer needs, enhancing agent efficiency and leveraging content marketing on social media for increased client engagement.

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