Singapore’s private residential market sprang back to life in July 2026.
Developers sold 731 new private homes excluding Executive Condominiums (ECs), almost five times the 156 units sold in June. Two launches — Dunearn House and Lentor Gardens Residences — were responsible for much of the rebound.
But beneath the headline number is a more interesting development.
235 of the 731 new homes sold in July were in the Core Central Region (CCR), representing 32.1% of all developer sales. That is a striking number because the CCR had accounted for only 10% of new-home sales in June and 5% in May.
So, are buyers finally returning to Singapore’s prime residential market?
The data suggests that CCR demand is strengthening — but it is important to distinguish a genuine improvement in buyer appetite from a launch-driven spike in transactions.
July 2026: Developer Sales Rebound Sharply
According to the July figures reported by The Business Times, developers sold 731 private homes excluding ECs, compared with:
- 156 units in June 2026
- 940 units in July 2025
That means July sales increased approximately 369% month-on-month, although they remained about 22% below July 2025.
The rebound was overwhelmingly supply-driven.
Lentor Gardens Residences accounted for 65.9% of all July new-home sales, while Dunearn House sold 212 of its 380 units, or 56%, over its launch weekend.
This illustrates an important characteristic of Singapore’s primary residential market today:
Monthly developer-sales numbers increasingly tell us as much about where developers launch projects as they do about underlying housing demand.
That distinction becomes particularly important when analysing the CCR.
The Number to Watch: CCR Captures 32.1% of July Sales
July’s 731 transactions were distributed approximately as follows:
| Market segment | July 2026 sales | Share |
|---|---|---|
| OCR | 334 | 45.7% |
| CCR | 235 | 32.1% |
| RCR | 162 | 22.2% |
| Total | 731 | 100% |
The CCR’s 32.1% market share is notable because prime residential sales had been relatively subdued during the preceding three months.
The immediate catalyst was Dunearn House, the month’s major CCR launch. Located in Bukit Timah’s District 11, the project sold 212 units at an average price of approximately S$3,140 psf.
In other words, around nine out of every ten CCR transactions in July came from Dunearn House alone.
That is the first clue that July’s 32.1% figure should not simply be interpreted as a broad-based rush back into luxury property.
But the longer-term numbers are nevertheless interesting.
CCR’s Share of New-Home Sales Has Been Extremely Volatile
Looking at 2026 month by month provides much more context.
| Month | Total new sales* | CCR sales | CCR share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 448 | 162 | 36.2% |
| Feb 2026 | 242 | 63 | 26.0% |
| Mar 2026 | 1,256 | 464 | 36.9% |
| Apr 2026 | 1,533 | 31 | 2.0% |
| May 2026 | 432 | 24 | 5.6% |
| Jun 2026 | 147 | 13 | 8.8% |
| Jul 2026 | 687 | 228 | 33.2% |
*Do take note that the data from the PropNex Protrend is lower than the Business Times data because of the exclusion of landed homes as well as any lapse of options.
The January figure was boosted by the launch of Newport Residences, while March saw another significant surge in CCR transactions, largely driven by River Modern. The project contributed 416 units—approximately 90% of all CCR developer sales in March.
Then the picture reversed dramatically.
April’s CCR contribution fell sharply to just 31 units, or 2% of total developer sales, as new-launch activity shifted overwhelmingly towards the OCR. Of the 1,548 homes sold in April, 1,358 were in the OCR, largely driven by two major launches: Tengah Garden Residences, which contributed 855 units, and Vela Bay, with 370 units sold.
In May, CCR sales remained at only 24 units or 5% of the market.
June improved slightly in percentage terms, but only because overall sales were extremely low. The CCR recorded 13 transactions, equivalent to about 9% of the month’s 147 sales.
And then July jumped back to 235 transactions and 32.1%. (Business Times Data)
The month-by-month movement in CCR market share can be summarised as follows:
36.2% → 26.0% → 36.9% → 2.0% → 5.6% → 8.8% → 33.2%
That is not a conventional upward trend. It is a launch-cycle pattern.
But There Is a More Important Trend Underneath the Volatility
Despite the sharp month-to-month fluctuations, the data suggests that buyer demand for prime CCR properties remains resilient, particularly when well-positioned and attractively priced new inventory enters the market.
February provides an interesting example though.
No major private project launches occurred that month because of the Chinese New Year period, yet the CCR still recorded 63 transactions, or about 26% of all new-home sales. More significantly, 225 CCR units were sold in January and February 2026 combined, up 64% from the 144 units transacted during the same period in 2025.
January itself was particularly revealing.
The launch of Newport Residences helped lift CCR transactions to 162 units, versus just 23 in December 2025. Newport Residences alone sold 132 units.
March then demonstrated that CCR buyers could absorb considerably more supply, with 464 transactions recorded during the month due to the launch of River Modern.
July’s Dunearn House performance therefore does not stand entirely in isolation.
Several occasions in 2026 have seen a meaningful release of CCR inventory met with substantial buyer demand.
July 2025 Provides an Even More Interesting Comparison
July 2026 is also worth comparing with the same month last year.
In July 2025, developers sold 902 new private homes excluding ECs, of which 345 were in the CCR. That means the CCR represented approximately 38% of all developer sales that month.
So July 2026’s 32.1% CCR share is not unprecedented.
In fact, it is below July 2025’s approximately 38%. But there is an important similarity between the two periods.
July 2025 had major CCR launches including UPPERHOUSE at Orchard Boulevard and The Robertson Opus. A total of 1,332 CCR units were launched that month — at the time an exceptionally large injection of prime-market supply.
July 2026 similarly benefited from Dunearn House.
The implication is important:
CCR transaction volume appears highly elastic to the availability of fresh, appropriately priced projects.
When there is little new CCR inventory, CCR’s market share can collapse into the low single digits.
When compelling inventory arrives, CCR can suddenly capture roughly one-third — or more — of the entire new-home market.
Why Might CCR Demand Be Improving?
There are several structural reasons why prime-market demand deserves closer attention.
1. Buyers may be reassessing the price gap between CCR and suburban property
New-launch prices across Singapore have risen substantially over the past several years.
As OCR and RCR projects increasingly transact at historically high price points, some buyers may begin comparing the absolute price difference required to enter a CCR project rather than automatically assuming that prime property is prohibitively expensive.
Dunearn House’s average selling price of around S$3,140 psf is undoubtedly premium pricing.
But when well-located RCR projects are already pushing towards the high-S$2,000 psf range, the relative premium required to own a District 9, 10 or 11 property becomes a more interesting calculation.
The question changes from:
“Why pay S$3,000+ psf?”
to:
“If I am already paying close to S$3,000 psf, what additional premium am I paying for a prime location?”
This fundamentally changes the value proposition for buyers.
2. CCR prices have not run as far ahead as other segments
There is another important piece of evidence.
URA data shows that for the whole of 2025, non-landed residential prices increased by:
- CCR: 1.9%
- RCR: 1.6%
- OCR: 3.2%
The CCR therefore did not experience dramatically stronger price appreciation despite its prime positioning.
Go back another year and the picture is also revealing. In 2024, non-landed prices increased 4.5% in the CCR, 5.8% in the RCR and 3.7% in the OCR.
The relative-value argument for prime residential property therefore deserves more attention than it did several years ago.
3. The buyer pool appears capable of absorbing high-value homes
The article also points to transactions at the very top of the market, including landed homes changing hands for more than S$30 million.
Separately, luxury residential sales in Singapore increased by nearly 25% year-on-year in H1 2026, with new citizens and permanent residents contributing to demand, according to The Business Times.
That does not mean the entire CCR is experiencing a luxury boom. But it reinforces the argument that there remains a meaningful pool of capital seeking prime Singapore residential assets.
The Big Caveat: Do Not Confuse Launch Demand With Market-Wide Demand
This is perhaps the most important conclusion from July’s numbers. 235 CCR transactions sound like a broad revival. But 212 of them came from Dunearn House.
Remove that single project and the remaining CCR market generated only about 23 transactions. That is remarkably close to the 22 units sold in May and not dramatically above June’s 15.
So there are two very different interpretations of July:
Interpretation A: “CCR sales are booming.”
The data does not yet justify that conclusion.
Interpretation B: “Buyers are increasingly prepared to purchase CCR homes when the right new product is launched.”
There is considerably more evidence supporting this interpretation. And that distinction matters for both buyers and investors.
Supply Is Becoming the Key Variable
Singapore’s overall primary market remains heavily influenced by the launch calendar. URA recorded 2,141 developer sales excluding ECs in Q2 2026, compared with 2,013 in Q1.
Yet monthly numbers within those quarters moved wildly because launches were unevenly distributed.
The same phenomenon is occurring within individual market regions.
March looked like a CCR resurgence.
April looked like an OCR market.
May looked overwhelmingly RCR-driven.
July brought the CCR back into focus.
Rather than asking simply whether buyers “prefer” the CCR, RCR or OCR, it may therefore be more useful to ask:
Where is attractive new inventory being released, at what price, and how quickly is the market absorbing it?
That gives us a much better measure of underlying demand.
What Should We Watch Next?
The next major CCR launches will provide an important test.
If future prime projects continue achieving strong launch-weekend take-up rates, particularly at prices around or above S$3,000 psf, July will look less like an isolated Dunearn House event and more like part of a broader CCR recovery.
There are three indicators worth monitoring:
First, CCR take-up rates. Not merely the number of transactions, but the percentage of units sold within the first month of launch.
Second, CCR sales outside new launches. If existing CCR projects begin consistently recording higher monthly sales, that would provide stronger evidence of broad-based demand.
Third, the CCR-RCR price premium. If RCR new-launch prices continue rising faster than prime-market prices, CCR projects may increasingly appear attractive on a relative-value basis.
Conclusion: CCR Is Showing Signs of Life — But July Is Not Yet Proof of a Boom
July’s 32.1% CCR share of developer sales is significant, particularly after the CCR contributed only 1.9% in April, 4.9% in May and 9.6% in June.
But the seven-month history tells us not to draw a straight trend line through the numbers.
The stronger conclusion is that CCR demand in 2026 has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to reappear rapidly when fresh prime inventory is launched.
January provided one example.
March provided another.
July’s Dunearn House has now provided a third.
And there is an intriguing year-on-year precedent: CCR homes accounted for approximately 38% of developer sales in July 2025, another month characterised by substantial prime-market launches.
So the emerging story is not necessarily that buyers are abandoning the OCR and RCR for the CCR.
It is that Singapore’s prime residential market may have considerably deeper demand than quiet months such as April, May and June would suggest.
When there is no compelling CCR launch, that demand remains largely invisible. When the right project arrives, it can suddenly represent a third of Singapore’s entire new-home market.
That makes the upcoming CCR launch pipeline one of the more interesting segments of Singapore’s residential market to watch over the remainder of 2026.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information and commentary purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or property advice. The data, figures and market observations presented are based on publicly available information and sources believed to be reliable at the time of writing. While reasonable care has been taken to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty is made as to the completeness or accuracy of the information.
References to sales volumes, market shares, project performance and market trends should not be interpreted as an indication or guarantee of future performance. Property market conditions may change due to economic conditions, government policies, interest rates, supply, buyer sentiment and other factors. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and seek appropriate professional advice before making any property purchase or investment decision.
Article contributed by Jerry Wong.
Jerry Wong is a realtor at Propnex Realty, bringing a rich background in interior and lighting design to his work. He loves exploring diverse spaces and observing the transformative power of real estate. Beyond his professional role, Jerry finds his greatest fulfillment in connecting people with the right properties, gaining immense satisfaction from helping clients achieve their dreams.
