Singapore’s local housing market has returned from its December slump to show strong January sales; however, this strength does have a downside—sales increased month on month; however, transactions decreased considerably versus the same period last year. These two simultaneous trends illustrate that although the current local housing market has a significant amount of developer activity, purchasers are being much more selective than they have previously.
In January 2026 private-residential unit developers sold 466 units, which is a substantial 136.5% (month-over-month) increase versus the prior month, December 2025. However, the number of units sold in this January (466 units) is also 57% less than the number of private-residential units sold in January 2025, illustrating that the total number of purchasers returning to purchase in January after the holiday season or sentiment slump has returned, but not necessarily to the same amount or type of housing.
In January, two launches, Narra Residences and Newport Residences, made up approximately 54.5% of the total amount of units sold for the month. The median price for Narra was approximately $2,148 per square foot, compared to $3,070 per square foot for Newport, which illustrates how differences in product positioning based on geographic location lead to significantly varying price premiums within the city-state.
In total, an additional 786 new units were added to the market during the month, of which about 59.3% were sold; this is considered a strong level of sales activity and is somewhat contrary to prevailing narratives about a slowing market. We are also seeing a similar pattern in buyer profiles; 87.3% of buyers were local, 10.8% were permanent residents, and only 1.9% of buyers were foreign, which indicates that domestic demand continues to outpace other sources of demand despite headline prices reaching challenging levels in central market precincts.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, highlighted the concentration of the marketplace, as he stated, “Two developments represented more than 50% of total sales,” showcasing how well-timed releases and excellent marketing can impact short-term statistics.
In terms of executive condominiums (EC), January also saw two ECs—Coastal Cabana, with an impressive 504 sales at a median price of $1,790 per square foot, contributed to total January EC sales of 524 units. For the majority of EC purchasers, these units are the pragmatic transition from HDB affordability to private-condominium desires.
Why should readers care about anything other than the numbers?
The pattern from January reveals market dynamics that significantly influence future prices. When very few launches are responsible for the large majority of transactions, the headline numbers can appear much better than what is really happening overall. Those developers who have a property with the right type of product, the right location, and the right price band can sell many units relatively quickly; other developers may have to wait a long time to sell out.
In the near future, buyers and analysts will focus on the next launches, River Modern, Rivelle Tampines (EC), and Pinery Residences, to see if there is any repeat or weakening of the concentration effect. Should the market broaden its appetite, month-over-month increases will look more stable; otherwise, any future increases in the headline number will likely only be attributable to a few blockbusters and not to broad-based recovery.
In January, data about the property market in Singapore highlighted the importance of understanding the broader context of the data; while there were some actual rebounds from 2011, these were linked to specific projects. Consequently, the January data offered insights to both potential investors in Singapore property and prospective homeowners about how (or even if) the products they purchase will affect the market’s momentum.
