(Nov 15): Singapore's home sales fell for a third month to the lowest since 2022, as a lack of major property projects being launched continued to drag on the market.

New private apartments sold by developers dropped to 203 units in October, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

The limited supply and significant domestic demand has boosted sales for new projects. One private residential and retail complex known as the J’den sold 323, or 88% of the homes it made available, for its inaugural sale last weekend.

Analysts have warned that a downturn is due for Singapore’s seven-year rally in private home prices — which rose 0.8% in the third quarter from the last three months. Morgan Stanley is predicting a 3% decline next year, while Bloomberg Intelligence expects prices to “move sideways in 2024, with some downside risk”.

“There might be a bit of positive spillover effect” because of the high prices recent projects fetched, said Nicholas Mak, the chief research officer of Mogul.sg, a property portal. However, he expects sales to become more muted in the first few months of 2024.