_Knight Frank Commentary | Monthly Developer Sales - September 2025

The developer sales activity for private residential properties during September 2025 was generally quiet and significantly lower in volume compared to the preceding month of August 2025. This deceleration was widely anticipated primarily due to the influence of the Lunar Seventh Month (Hungry Ghost Festival), a traditionally quiet period for property launches and major purchases which lasted up to 21 September. There were 255 developer sales (excluding Executive Condominiums (ECs)) in September, a very substantial 88.1% less than the 2,142 sales in August, and 36.4% lower than the same period a year ago in September 2024. The developer sales recorded in September was also the lowest monthly count in 2025 thus far. However, this expected slowdown was not a sign of market weakness, as the reported 99% of units sold during the launch of the Skye at Holland (after the Lunar Seventh Month was over) attests to the ongoing appetite of homebuyers for new product.

Despite the quiet September, data (based on monthly developer sales data) compiled for the whole of Q3 2025 showed that primary transactions in the Core Central Region (CCR) skyrocketed to 916 sales compared to the 46 from April to June, providing compelling evidence that there is demand by Singapore residents for the prime residential locations. The recent launches in the CCR injected the prime areas with renewed activity in July and August. However, prices in the CCR have not risen as briskly when compared to the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR). In the past five years (Q3 2020 to the Q3 2025 flash estimates), the non-landed private home price index for the CCR grew by a cumulative 27%, against the gains of 47% and 46% made in the RCR and OCR respectively. With a narrowing price gap between the prime locations versus the rest of the island, value opportunities have emerged for the observant homebuyer. And this also includes options for capital preservation and legacy transfer, especially when a substantial proportion of the completed freehold inventory is in the CCR.

In the nine months of 2025, an estimated total of 7,924 private residential units have been sold in the primary market, well within the 7,000 to 9,000 range forecasted by Knight Frank earlier this year. Singapore’s residential market remains resilient despite global uncertainty, supported by low unemployment and healthy household balance sheets. Most residents remain employed, and strong domestic savings provide households with financial flexibility, sustaining demand even as global economic and geopolitical pressures persist. While most households are not under immediate financial pressure, some are motivated to act sooner rather than later anticipating further price growth, especially with interest rates trending downwards. In the months ahead, the key factors to watch are the unfolding global macroeconomic headwinds, interest rates, and the unemployment levels. Notwithstanding the uncertainty global economy and trade conditions, new home sales should fall at the higher end of the original forecast range, likely to surpass the 9,000-mark from sales at new launches in October and early November, before the start of the seasonal holiday period.