Demand for new private homes continue to soar

Demand for new private homes surged in the month of January despite the latest round of cooling measures by the government.

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), some 2,013 units of private apartments were sold in January, excluding Executive Condominiums (ECs).

That's a jump of 43 percent compared with the month of December, which saw 1,410 units changing hands.

Analysts say the 43 percent surge in January comes as a surprise, partly because of the very severe round of cooling measures implemented last month.

Nicholas Mak is Executive Director of Research & Consultancy at property firm SLP International:

"The increase in January's sales was partly due to the strong take-up in the first eleven days of the month, as well as the subsequent aggressive marketing of certain projects in response to the market curbs. Some developers were giving price discounts and rebates to buyers and/or higher incentives to agents to encourage sales."

Meanwhile, the best selling project last month was La Fiesta located at Sengkang Square with 404 units changing hands.

Including ECs, a total of 2,269 new homes were sold in January.