Marketing of new projects sparks a lift in Singapore home sales in February

Singapore's home sales rose last month as developers marketed new projects, a government report showed.

Home sales climbed 1.7 per cent to 724 units last month compared with 712 in the same period a year ago, according to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Sales climbed 28 per cent from January, the data showed.

Singapore's property market was stabilising and the city state was not facing a credit bubble that puts the island or its banking system at risk of a crisis, the central bank said on January 15. The government introduced loan measures in June last year as it widened a campaign that started in 2009 to curb speculation.

"The market is showing signs of stability after the exceptionally low sales in January," said Nicholas Mak, executive director and head of research at SLP International Property Consultants in Singapore.

Mak expected home sales by developers to be between 11,000 and 13,000 units this year.

Among the developers that began sales of their projects was UOL Development (Sengkang), which sold 211 of 250 units marketed at its Riverbank Fernvale, and Watervine Homes, which sold 218 of 300 units at its Rivertrees Residences, both located in Singapore's northeast, according to the URA.

Singapore's fourth-quarter home prices slid for the first time in almost two years last year, trimming annual gains to the smallest since 2008. Housing values gained 1.1 per cent in 2013, the smallest annual increase since prices slid 4.7 per cent in 2008.

The private residential property price index fell 0.9 per cent to 214.3 in the three months ended December, data from the authority showed on January 24.