New launch property - Based on flash data from SRX and 99.co released on Thursday (Dec 7), resale prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats increased 0.4 per cent month on month, and 5.4 per cent year on year, in November.
However, resale volumes declined 2.8 per cent from October 2023’s levels, and 0.1 per cent from a year ago, with 2,138 resale units sold in November.
Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, said: “One possible reason for this slowdown is that buyers now have more housing options, especially in recent months.”
She suggested that buyers may have been drawn away from the HDB resale market by HDB’s recent Build-To-Order (BTO) launches in October and December.
“Moreover, many of the newly launched BTO flats have attractive features such as being well-located, beside MRT stations, or surrounded by ample amenities. The wait times for the new flats have also been shortened, and serious buyers now have a higher chance of getting a unit.”
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Sun also noted that homebuyers may have opted for newly completed condominiums instead of bigger resale flats, as HDB resale prices have “risen rather substantially” over the past two years.
“Furthermore, they do not need to pay an ABSD (Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty) since they can move into the newly completed condo immediately. This has made buying a new condo more attractive than buying a bigger resale flat.”
In November 2023, resale prices in non-mature estates increased by 0.5 per cent, while resale prices in mature estates dipped by 0.03 per cent from the previous month. However, both grew year on year, with mature estate prices up 5.7 per cent and non-mature estate prices up 5.5 per cent.
Four-room flat prices rose the most by 0.3 per cent, followed by executive units by 0.2 per cent and three-roomers by 0.1 per cent.
On the contrary, prices for five-room resale flats fell by 0.8 per cent for the month.
Prices for all room types rose year on year, with four-room units leading the way with a 6.4 per cent increase.
This was followed by executive flats with a 6.1 per cent increase, five-roomers with a 4.7 per cent increase, and three-roomers with a 4.3 per cent increase.
The highest transacted price for a resale flat in November 2023 was a five-room flat in Henderson Road that sold for S$1.46 million.
In the non-mature estates, an executive apartment in Hougang Street 31 had the highest price tag at slightly over S$1.04 million.
A total of 45 HDB resale flats were sold for over S$1 million, making up 2.1 per cent of November’s total resale volumes, and up from 41 of such units sold in October 2023.
Bukit Merah had the largest number of million-dollar flats sold at nine units, followed by six units in Kallang Whampoa.
The rest of the million-dollar flats came from Ang Mo Kio, Queenstown, Bishan, Toa Payoh, Clementi, Bukit Batok, Central Area, Serangoon, Woodlands, Geylang, Hougang and Bedok.
Huttons Data Analytics estimates that the total number of HDB flats sold for over a million dollars in 2023 could reach 460, or about 25 per cent higher than the 369 transactions recorded for 2022.
Mark Yip, chief executive of Huttons Asia, said: “Out of the 26 HDB towns, 22 of them had at least one million-dollar flat since 2012. Only Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West, Sembawang and Sengkang had yet to see a million-dollar flat.”
The real estate company expects Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh and Kallang/Whampoa to be the top three HDB towns with the most number of million-dollar flats in 2023.
Industry watchers expect demand in the HDB resale market to remain subdued for December 2023 due to the holiday season.
PropNex’s head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said: “Looking at 2023, the HDB resale market is showing signs of slowing growth as the combined impact of price resistance among buyers, a large BTO supply, and the effects of the September 2022 cooling measures weigh on sales and kept price growth measured.”
ERA Singapore’s key executive officer Eugene Lim, however, expects a pickup in transaction volumes for 2024, as he noted that the economy is “forecast to grow at a measured pace”.
Adapt from THE BUSINESS TIMES
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