(Sept 15): Singapore new home sales fell in August as developers delayed launches during a period seen to be inauspicious for property purchases.

Developers sold 153 new private units last month, the fewest since February 2024, according to figures released Tuesday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. That compares with 731 homes sold in July and 2,142 a year earlier.

The drop was widely expected because it was during the Hungry Ghost festival in the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Developers routinely push launches into the weeks before or after the period, which this year began in mid-August and ran through Sept 10.

The seasonal factor is unlikely to derail Singapore’s buoyant residential market. New home sales in the city-state hinge in part on how many projects developers choose to release.

Prices of private homes climbed 0.5% in the second quarter, slowing from 0.9% in the previous three months.

Uploaded by Arion Yeow