HDB resale price rises by 1.1% Q4 2023, and 4.9% overall for the year
The Housing and Development Board (HDB), released data on Friday, Jan 26. It showed that the resale prices of public housing apartments continued to increase in the fourth quarter 2023 but at a slower pace than the previous quarter.
In addition to cooling measures, the government has been able to rein in the rise in resale prices by increasing the supply aggressively and reducing the waiting time for new apartments.
The Q4 resale price was up by 1.1 percent, compared with the growth of 1.3 percent for the third quarter. This is below the 2.5 percent average quarterly growth in 2022.
In 2023, the resale price of flats rose by 4.9 percent – the lowest growth since 2019 when prices only increased by 0.1 percent.
Experts say that the price growth last year slowed due to a decrease in housing demand, concerns about inflation and higher interest rates.
HDB data shows that the resale volume for this year dropped by 4.2 percent to 26,735 from 27,896.
The number of resale cases dropped by 2.2% in Q4, to 6,547 – the lowest volume for the fourth quarter since 2020. Resale transactions decreased by 0.8% year-on-year.
Analysts attributed the slowdown in Q4 to the increased supply of Build-to-Order flats (BTO) and the end-of-year lull.
Homebuyers no longer fear missing out on the best deals.
HDB resale apartments are no longer being purchased at higher prices or for more than the value of the flat.
HDB data shows that the median price of three-room HDB apartments in central Singapore was S$481,500. The lowest price was S$345,000 in Geylang.
Bukit Panjang recorded the lowest median resale prices for four-room apartments at S$503,000. Queenstown had the highest median resale prices at S$928,000.
Bukit Merah recorded the highest median price for five-room flats at S$959,000 and Jurong West the lowest at S$588,000.
When owners see that neighbours sold their apartment for more than a million dollars, they are encouraged to raise their expectations. Many owners will not lower their asking price as they are aware that the new flat classifications, which come into effect later this year have no restrictions on resale.
Hougang had the highest median price of S$895,000 for executive flats, while Jurong West had the lowest at S$698,000.
The number of million dollar flats has reached an historic high with 470 transactions. However, these flats represent only a small percentage (2.1%) of the overall market.
In 2024, we expect to see a rise in the number of HDB resale flats worth more than RM1 million, as buyers will continue to value these flats for their excellent attributes and desirable locations.
A five-room DBSS apartment at 139A Lorong 1, Toa Payoh, sold for almost S$1,57 million in January. This is a record price on the resale marketplace.
HDB’s Build-to-Order (BTO), which will take place in February, will see around 4,100 HDB flats available across Bedok Queenstown Choa Chu Kang Hougang Punggol Woodlands.
Sale of Balance Flats will offer another 1,500 apartments. In 2024, a total of 19,600 BTO apartments will be released.
The rental demand for HDB apartments slowed down in Q4. HDB approved 9,787 rental applications in Q4 compared to 9,852 in Q3.
The total number of apartments rented in the third quarter was 58,159, up by 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, which saw 57,797.
The median rental price for a five room flat in Queenstown was S$4,300, while the lowest was S$2,200 in Bukit Merah for two-room apartments and S$2,200 in Bukit panjang for three-room apartments.
Rental supply will continue to shrink. The rental inventory could also shrink due to an increase in Additional Buyers Stamp Duty, which discourages homeowners from purchasing a second home while still keeping their HDB apartments for rental income.
Rents may moderate, causing some local tenants to return to the private sector.
