GCB market sees lower Q3 sales

Oct 10, 2011 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

 

Despite lower good class bungalow (GCB) sales in the third quarter this year, some property agents remain upbeat that the buyer-seller price gap will narrow and lead to more deals in GCB areas in the next three to six months.

According to CB Richard Ellis’ analysis of caveats data, there were five GCB deals totalling S$83.6 million in Q3 2011.

Moreover, the Business Times reported that there were another two bungalows in GCB areas sold for a total S$46 million, bringing total sales to around S$130 million in Q3.

Quarter-on-quarter, GCB sales in Q3 saw a sharp decline from S$410.3 million in Q2 and S$392.4 million in Q1.

Meanwhile, Douglas Wong, CBRE Director (Luxury Homes), has reduced his full-year 2011 GCB sales forecast to some 50 to 60 deals (totalling S$1.2 billion to S$1.3 billion) from his previous estimate of about 60 to 70 deals (S$1.4 billion to S$1.5 billion).

In 2010, a record 121 deals amounting to S$2.27 billion were sealed.

Wong noted that while sales volumes have decreased, the average price in terms of psf of land area for GCBs transacted so far this year is S$1,228 psf — almost 13 percent above the S$1,087 psf achieved last year.

“GCB prices are still on an uptrend because of their scarcity value,” he added.

“Going forward, weaker sentiment will prevail as a result of the debt crisis in Europe and slower global economic growth. We expect the GCB market to move at a cautious pace.”

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