Developers' sales plunge to 153 units in August, down 79% m-o-m and 93% y-o-y
The launch-driven slowdown signals a temporary supply gap rather than weaker buyer demand, with upcoming projects potentially lifting transactions while keeping monthly sales uneven.
Developers sold 153 new private homes excluding ECs in August, down 79.1% m-o-m and 92.9% y-o-y, amid no new project launches.
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Developers sold fewer homes amid a lack of new launches during the lunar seventh month, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival period.
According to data published by URA on Sept 15, 153 new private homes excluding executive condos (ECs) were sold last month, representing a 79.1% plunge from the 731 units moved in July. Including ECs, new private home sales totalled 171 transactions, down 77.4% m-o-m.
This is the lowest monthly sales volume (excluding ECs) since February 2024, when developers also sold 153 units, says Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty. “The last time new home sales fell below the 200-unit mark this year was in June, when no new units were put on the market amid the June school holidays,” she adds.
Read also: Developers' sales fell y-o-y to 731 new private homes in July but rebounded from June
Developers’ sales in August were also 92.9% lower compared to the year before, when 2,142 units were sold in August 2025. The y-o-y fall widened from the 22.2% decline recorded in July.
Christine Sun, chief research and strategist at Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group, attributes the larger drop to the earlier start of the lunar seventh month this year, which fell on Aug 13. “Comparatively, the lunar seventh month [last year] started later on Aug 23, 2025, giving developers more time to launch a flurry of five projects with almost 2,500 units before the start of the lunar seventh month, thus recording more sales then,” she adds.
This year, there were no new launches in August. Developers placed 116 new homes on the market, which all came from one existing project — Union Square Residences, notes Wong.
The figure represents an 87% m-o-m tumble from the 889 new units launched for sale in July, which largely came from two new projects: the 380-unit Dunearn House in Bukit Timah Turf City and the 499-unit Lentor Gardens Residences.
Given the dearth of launches in August, the fall in new home sales was largely anticipated and should not be taken as an indication of shifting homebuyer demand, says Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI. “The month represented a temporary breather for the primary market as buyers awaited the next wave of project launches.”
Dunearn House tops best-selling projects
Dunearn House was the best-selling project in August by number of units sold. The 99-year leasehold development in the Core Central Region (CCR) shifted 18 units last month at a median price of $3,008 psf. The project is now about 60% taken up.
Read also: Developer sales slow in June with 156 new private homes transacted, RCR takes the lead
Dunearn House’s median transacted price is below the $3,059 psf median for new non-landed homes sold in the CCR last month, observes Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. “This price gap may have helped seal the deal for some first-movers, particularly those interested in Bukit Timah Turf City’s long-term potential,” he continues.
The second-best performing project was Lentor Gardens Residences in the Outside Central Region (OCR). A total of 15 units at the 99-year leasehold development were sold in August at a median price of $2,367 psf.
Rounding out the top three projects is The Sen. The 347-unit, 99-year leasehold condo on Jalan Jurong Kechil in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) moved 12 units at a $2,305 psf median price last month.
While the top two projects are in the CCR and OCR, the RCR accounted for most of the new private homes sold in August, at 72 units, or 47% of the total. The OCR ranked second, shifting 57 units (36%), followed by the CCR with 24 units (16%).
Lowest monthly EC sales this year as supply dwindles
Two ECs were among the top-performing projects for August: Coastal Cabana and Rivelle Tampines.
Located along Jalan Loyang Besar in the OCR, Coastal Cabana shifted 12 units at a median price of $1,830 psf last month, with the project now 82% sold. It launched for sale in January.
Meanwhile, Rivelle Tampines, a 529-unit development on Tampines Street 95 that launched in March, moved 6 units at a median price of $1,944 psf. Its take-up rate stood at 97.6% as of end-August.
Read also: New home sales plunge 71.1% m-o-m in May, with 447 units sold
Number of unsold EC units and EC units sold
Together, the two projects account for the 18 EC units developers sold last month. The figure is 33.3% lower compared to the 27 units in July. It is also the weakest EC monthly sales so far this year, falling below the 20 units sold in February, says ERA’s Chu.
Chu notes new EC supply remains tight, with only 157 unsold units as at the end of August. “This is likely to constrain sales through the rest of 2026, until the expected launch of Wynwood Grand next year revives buyer interest,” he adds.
According to Chu, Wynwood Grand is slated for preview in 4Q2026 and will be the first EC launch in Woodlands in over a decade. The City Developments’ project on Woodlands Drive 17 is expected to have around 430 units.
Measured pick-up in September
The August sales figure brings total new home sales (excluding ECs) for the first eight months of the year to 5,038 units — 34.3% below the 7,669 units sold over the same period last year, notes Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at CBRE.
She attributes the slower momentum this year to “fewer launches and higher price points, coupled with a normalisation in demand after new sales posted a four-year high in 2025”.
Nonetheless, she expects sales to pick up in the months ahead as major launches — such as the 1,268-unit Thomson Reserve on Bright Hill Drive, the 570-unit Lucerne Grand on Lakeside Drive and the 212-unit Amberwood at Holland in the Holland Plain precinct — come to market.
PropNex’s Wong sees sales likely recovering from the second half of September, when Amberwood at Holland and Lucerne Grand are expected to preview. “Developers’ sales are likely to remain uneven in the near-term, with monthly transaction volumes heavily influenced by the timing and scale of new project launches,” she says.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, believes developers’ sales will pick up to between 250 and 400 units in September on the back of Amberwood at Holland’s launch, while sales at Lucerne Grand will likely be booked in October.
For the full year, he estimates developers will launch up to 7,000 new homes, marking the lowest amount since 2023. “Barring unforeseen circumstances, transaction volume is estimated to be around 7,000 units, while prices are estimated to grow between 2% and 5% in 2026,” he adds.