# August new home sales slow as launches dry up during Ghost Month

- **Source:** The Business Times
- **Published:** 2026-09-15T05:28:32.000Z
- **Author:** Chong Xin Wei
- **Original:** https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/august-new-home-sales-slow-launches-dry-during-ghost-month
- **Topics:** Private Residential, New Launches, Government & Policy

## Featured rationale

The Ghost Month launch drought signals supply timing drove the slowdown, while higher price points and affordability concerns may encourage developers to emphasise lower purchase quantum.

## AI summary

Singapore developers sold 153 private homes in August, the lowest monthly total in 30 months and 92.9% below the 2,142 units sold a year earlier.

## Original article

[SINGAPORE] New home sales in the seasonally slow “Ghost Month” period fell to 153 units in August, down 92.9 per cent from the 2,142 units moved in the same month a year earlier, data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showed on Tuesday (Sep 15).

The latest August sales figure was also about 79 per cent lower than the 731 units sold in July this year.

Mark Yip, Huttons Asia CEO, pointed to the lack of new launches during the lunar seventh month, saying that June sales had amounted to a similarly low 156 units when no new projects were launched.

This year, the lunar seventh month, when both developers and homebuyers stay on the sidelines due to superstitious reasons, fell between Aug 13 and Sep 10, almost two weeks earlier than in 2025 when it dated from Aug 23 to Sep 21.

Still, the August tally brings developers’ sales to 5,038 units for the first eight months of 2026, some 34 per cent below the 7,669 units sold over the same period in 2025, noted Tricia Song, CBRE head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia.

“The slower momentum this year has been a function of fewer launches and higher price points,” said Song.

Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of research and content, expects sales to pick up over the next month as new projects – Amberwood at Holland, the first project in the new Holland Plain precinct, and Lucerne Grand in Lakeside – come onstream.

Other projects in the pipeline include The Serra Residences in Novena and Thomson Reserve, a mega development on the sprawling former site of Thomson View condominium.

“We expect quantum play to remain an important consideration in developers’ pricing strategies for upcoming launches,” said Wong, pointing to URA caveat data showing that around 60.1 per cent of new private non-landed homes sold last month were priced below S$2.5 million, inching up from 58.5 per cent in July.

While demand for new homes has held up reasonably well amid geopolitical and trade uncertainties, she flagged employment conditions and the impact of higher energy prices on inflation and interest rates as factors that could weigh on buyer sentiment.

Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, was also cautious. While 12 residential projects comprising about 5,200 units could be launched in the coming months, he expects developers to release only about half of them before Christmas, as the market may not be able to absorb that level of supply.

The August data is the lowest monthly new home sales the market has seen in the past 30 months, he added.

“On the positive side, the government will be taking in more new immigrants and minting more new Singapore citizens among the permanent residents in the next few years, which will raise both buying and leasing demand for residential properties,” said Mak.

Including executive condominiums, 171 units were sold in August with 116 units launched, versus 2,338 units sold and 2,496 units launched in the same month in 2025. In comparison, 758 units were sold and 889 units were launched in July.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok_cli

### 鬼月期间新盘枯竭，8月新私宅销量放缓

发展商期内售出153个私宅单位，与6月没有新盘推介时相近

【新加坡】市区重建局（URA）星期二（9月15日）公布的数据显示，在季节性淡季“鬼月”期间，8月新私宅销量降至153个单位，较一年前同月售出的2,142个单位下跌92.9%。

最新的8月销量也较今年7月售出的731个单位低约79%。

Huttons Asia首席执行官Mark Yip指出农历七月期间缺乏新盘开盘，并表示6月在没有新项目推出时，销量同样低至156个单位。

今年农历七月——发展商和购房者都会因迷信原因持观望态度——落在8月13日至9月10日，较2025年的8月23日至9月21日提早近两周。

尽管如此，CBRE新加坡与东南亚研究主管Tricia Song指出，8月数据使发展商2026年前八个月销量达到5,038个单位，较2025年同期售出的7,669个单位低约34%。

Song表示：“今年势头放缓，是开盘减少和价格水平更高共同作用的结果。”

PropNex研究与内容主管Wong Siew Ying预计，随着新项目入市——新Holland Plain区的首个项目Amberwood at Holland，以及Lakeside的Lucerne Grand——销量将在下个月回升。

其他在筹备中的项目还包括诺维娜的The Serra Residences，以及位于原Thomson View公寓广阔地段上的大型项目Thomson Reserve。

Wong表示：“我们预计总价策略仍将是发展商为即将开盘项目定价时的重要考量。”她指出，市区重建局买卖交易记录数据显示，上月售出的新私人非有地住宅中，约60.1%定价低于新元250万元，较7月的58.5%略有上升。

尽管在地缘政治和贸易不确定性下，新私宅需求仍保持得相当不错，她也提醒就业状况以及能源价格上涨对通胀和利率的影响，可能拖累买家情绪。

Mogul.sg首席研究官Nicholas Mak同样持谨慎态度。尽管未来数月可能有12个住宅项目、合计约5,200个单位开盘，他预计发展商在圣诞节前只会推出其中约一半，因为市场可能无法消化如此规模的供应。

他补充说，8月数据是过去30个月来市场录得的最低单月新私宅销量。

Mak表示：“从积极方面看，政府未来几年将吸纳更多新移民，并在永久居民中批准更多新新加坡公民，这将同时提升住宅物业的购买和租赁需求。”

若计入执行共管公寓，8月售出171个单位、推出116个单位，而2025年同月则售出2,338个单位、推出2,496个单位。相较之下，7月售出758个单位、推出889个单位。