Prices of Housing Board resale flats rose for the eighth consecutive month in May, as prices climbed up by 0.3 percent or more units sold.
The price rise was slower than the 0.9 percent rise recorded in April, as per flash data published by real estate portals Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) and 99.co on June 5. The prices increased by 6 percent over the course of the year.
The figure is estimated at 2,513 HDB units changed hands in May, which is a 5.3 per cent increase from the 2,387 units that were resold in April.
Seventy-four flats were bought for at least $1 million each in May, which is equal to January’s record and an increase from the 68 flats that were lodged in April.
The resilience of the public housing resale market to potential home buyers who were unsuccessful in February’s Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise turning to alternatives, and homeowners putting up their flats on the market because of a rise in prices.
The outcomes of February’s BTO exercise and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) launch were announced in the first week of April, and at the end of April, respectively.
SBF launches give applicants the chance to apply for balance flats that were previously sold through BTO sale exercises.
If they’re unable to locate a suitable home in the near term and have tried both methods but haven’t found a place to live in the meantime, many might consider resale homes. This could result in an increase in the prices of resales and volume.
There was a dearth of BTO launches, as well as an increase in supply resulted in more units being resold.
Greater demand for larger units could be a to the.
In the month of May, 176 executive apartments were resold. It is the most number of resales since September 2022 when the 15-month waiting period for homeowners to purchase HDB Apartments for resales was introduced.
40% of the 327 million dollars sales of resales from January to may 2024 included five-room apartments. This suggests a high demand for larger houses.
Of the 74 million dollars worth of resales flats sold in May 33 were five-room units, 22 were executive flats, 18 were four-room flats and one flat was a three-room terraced flat.
The majority of the flats were in mature estates such as Kallang/Whampoa, Bukit Merah Toa Payoh and Queenstown Six were in towns that are not mature Jurong East, Bukit Batok, Yishun and Hougang.
The 74 flats that were sold as resales accounted for 29% of all resales deals in May, which is similar to April.
The greater number of flats that sold at more than $1 million may be a sign of potential buyers searching for properties that have no limitations on resales. They could become in high demand.
A five-room, 106 square m flat between the 37th and 39th storeys at the Pinnacle@Duxton on Cantonment Road changed hands for $1,515,000, which makes it the highest-priced HDB resale flat in May.
The demand for resale apartments is expected to stay steady as former homeowners who are looking to the market to sell their properties and buyers who have urgent housing needs.
People who would prefer centralised areas, but don’t wish to be governed by the stricter requirements of the brand new system for classification could be a factor in the demand for flats for resales.
The area of the BTO apartments that are launched in the second half 2024 will determine whether they are classified as Standard, Prime or Plus. Prime apartments in the most sought-after areas close to the city center are subject to the strictest limitations.
In June, HDB resale markets are expected to moderate since the BTO is the last one before the implementation of the new classification system and due to the summer holidays.
Some potential home buyers may be interested in investigating BTO flat options, which were announced in June, since they might want to make use of the current classification structure before October’s BTO exercise.