HDB resale prices log 24th month of increase; June prices up 11.4% from a year ago: SRX, 99.co

RESALE prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats increased for the 24th consecutive month in June, while volumes fell from a month ago, according to flash estimates from property portal SRX and 99.co released on Thursday (Jul 7).

Across all flat types and locations, HDB resale prices were up. They registered a 1.2 per cent increase in June 2022 from May; year on year, prices were up 11.4 per cent.

Mature estates prices increased by 1.1 per cent, while non-mature estate flats recorded a 1.2 per cent increase in resale prices month on month. Year on year, mature and non-mature estate flat resale prices were up 10.2 per cent and 12.3 per cent respectively.

By flat type, 3-room, 4-room and executive flat resale prices each gained 1 per cent on the month. Five-room flat prices were up 1.4 per cent.

According to the SRX Property Price Index for HDB Resale, on a yearly basis, resale prices were up 12.1 per cent for 3-room flats, 11.7 per cent for 4-room flats, 12 per cent for 5-room flats and 11.6 per cent for executive flats.

Meanwhile, HDB resale volumes dropped in June, falling 0.8 per cent to 2,139 transactions. This represents a 7.4 per cent decrease on the year.

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Over the last 3 quarters, transaction volume has been decreasing, while prices have been on the upward trend, said Pow Ying Khuan, head of research at 99.co. “This shows that demand among genuine homebuyers remains robust, and suggests a decline in supply which may be pushing prices further up.”

Huttons Asia and OrangeTee & Tie agreed that the resale dip could possibly be attributed to potential buyers taking the June holiday season to travel overseas.

Some demand could also have been diverted to the BTO market and price resistance might be setting in as prices rose for 24 straight months, added OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun.

Despite the lower resale volume recorded in June, Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, said total annual resale volumes could potentially reach 28,000 in 2022, as housing demand remains healthy.

“The Ministry of Trade and Industry said recently that the Singapore economy is not expected to slip into a recession or stagflation next year. This could help to allay concerns and further prop up market confidence.”

In 2022, PropNex predicts a price growth of between 7 and 9 per cent for the HDB resale market; Huttons believes they might increase by up to 10 per cent.

More than half, or 58.9 per cent, of HDB resale flat deals were for non-mature estates, with mature estates making up the remaining 41.1 per cent.

Mark Yip, chief executive of Huttons Asia, said demand may have been diverted to non-mature estates due to higher prices for mature estate flats.

“Some price sensitive buyers may have also adjusted their budget and bought a flat in non-mature estates to account for the higher interest rate,” he added.

By flat type, 41.8 per cent of deals was for 4-room flats, 26.9 per cent for 5-room flats, followed by 22.2 per cent for 3-room flats and 7.3 per cent for executive flats. One-room and 2-room flats accounted for the remaining resale volume.

The most expensive HDB flat resold was a 5-room DBSS unit at Natura Loft, which cost S$1.31 million. An executive apartment unit in Yishun went for S$1 million, the highest in non-mature estates, SRX and 99.co data showed. 

99.co’s Pow noted that at 3, Yishun has recorded the most number of million-dollar flats among non-mature estates. The Yishun transaction in June shows continued strong demand for larger-sized units, he said.

The number of million-dollar HDB flats transacted inched up to 31 in June, from 30 units in May. These transactions represented 1.4 per cent of the total resale volume for the month.

June 2022 set the second-highest monthly sales of million-dollar flats on record, according to Pow, with December 2021’s 36 units taking the top spot.

OrangeTee & Tie’s Sun added: “This is also the highest half-year sales on record.”

Bishan and Bukit Merah accounted for 6 of these transactions each, followed by the Central Area with 5 units and Ang Mo Kio and Kallang/Whampoa with 4 each. The remaining million-dollar units resold came from Queenstown, Toa Payoh and Yishun.

PropNex’s Wong said, including 2 million-dollar flat transactions in July, 2022 has seen 168 such transactions to date. “We expect the number of such transactions to surpass the 259 transactions recorded in 2021, possibly even hitting the 300-mark in 2022.”