(March 16): Singapore home sales fell in February as the Lunar New Year holiday kept buyers and developers on the sidelines during one of the property market’s traditionally quieter months.
Developers sold 246 new private units in February, according to figures released Monday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). That compares with 1,597 units sold in the same month last year, when the holiday period started in January and two major project launches drove transactions.
A softening of Singapore’s housing market rally is clouding the outlook for developers, which are also bracing for the effects of the Middle East conflict. Shares of Singapore real estate firms tumbled on Monday as fears about the economic impact of the US-Israel war with Iran led JPMorgan Chase & Co analysts to downgrade some of the country’s largest developers.
Shares of City Developments Ltd dropped as much as 6.8%, the most in almost a year after JPMorgan cut the firm to neutral from overweight. Analysts cited the impact of the Iran conflict on tourism and its hotel segment, as well as potential delays in divestments.
UOL Group Ltd slid as much as 7.5%, the most since 2018. Real estate shares had reached multi-year highs in Singapore in recent months, propelled by the housing boom.
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The Lunar New Year typically curtails showroom visits and transaction activity. The slowdown comes after almost 11,000 private homes were sold in all of 2025, the most in years, even as price growth eased to 3.3%.
Still, transactions are due to pick up this month. Almost 500 new units have been sold in March so far, according to separate data published by the URA, with the bulk of them in a new project being built in River Valley, a rising middle-class enclave on the city centre fringe.
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