Newport Residences moved 140 of its 246 units at an average selling price (ASP) of $3,370 psf, excluding its sole penthouse unit. This was ahead of UBS’s expectations, which had forecast Newport Residences to sell just 30% of its units at an ASP of $2,800 psf at its launch.
UBS notes that the project was initially scheduled for launch in early 2023 but was delayed after the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for foreigners was doubled to 60%. “Subsequently, projects in the Core Central Region of Singapore had generally posted muted performance.”
UBS favours developers CDL, United Overseas Land (UOL) and CapitaLand Investment (CLI) over S-REITs. Citi Research analyst Brandon Lee echoes the preference for developers, setting a $9.01 target price for CDL.
With the sale of Newport Residences, Lee expects a profit before tax (PBT) margin of around 53% for CDL based on a breakeven price of about $1,425 psf.
See also: 544-unit Narra Residences sells nearly a quarter of units on launch weekend
“Within the CBD, we believe there aren’t direct comparable projects in terms of land tenure and project type, with the closest being [the] 99-year leasehold, 351-unit One Bernam, [a] pure residential project launched in May 2021, with latest units transacted in February 2025 for $2,480 to $2,790 psf,” writes Lee in a Feb 2 note.
High supply around Narra Residences
Meanwhile, Narra Residences in the Bukit Timah-Dairy Farm precinct sold nearly a quarter of its 544 units over its Jan 31 to Feb 1 launch weekend at an average selling price (ASP) of around $2,180. The 135 units sold include all four of the development’s retail units.
See also: DBS maintains $5.71 target price for Singtel following acquisition of STT GDC with KKR
The “mass-market” condominium is owned and developed by a joint venture among Santarli Realty, Apex Asia Development, Soon Li Heng Civil Engineering and Kay Lim Realty. Citi estimates a PBT margin of 10% on a breakeven price of $1,870 psf.
The last nearby projects to launch were 341- unit Hillhaven in January 2024 at an ASP of $2,064 psf and the 386-unit The Botany at Dairy Farm in March 2023 at an ASP of $2,070 psf.
Narra Residences’ tepid launch stands in “sharp contrast” against prior year launches in Singapore’s Outside Central Region (OCR), where 10M2025 saw a record 84% takeup rate within the first month, note UBS analysts.
“We think the relatively low take-up rate reflects high supply in the area in recent years and the performance may not necessarily extrapolate to future launches in the OCR. OCR projects are a significant 57% of 2026’s units to be launched, so take-up would be key to monitor,” add Lim and Lee.
The next OCR launch is Pinery Residences in Tampines by Sunway/Hoi Hup, which will launch within 1Q2026.
“Given this follows Parktown Residence’s sizeable 1,041-unit launch in Tampines back in February 2025, we believe it mirrors the situation at Dairy Farm, and would be another important litmus test of buyer appetite — or buyer fatigue, a negative for developers,” adds UBS.
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