Housing Board resale prices rose for the eighth time in May. The price increased only 0.3 percent, and more flats were sold.
According to the data released by real estate websites Singapore Real Estate Exchange and 99.co, on the 5th of June, the rise was less than 0.9 percent recorded in April. The prices increased by 6 percent over the course of the year.
In May, a total of 2,513 HDBs were sold, an increase of 5.3 percent over the 2,387 HDBs that were resold in April.
In May, 74 flats that were sold at over $1 million were recorded. This is similar to the record set in January.
The durability of the market for public housing resales to buyers who were unable to secure a house during February’s Build-to-Order exercise (BTO) as well as homeowners who have put their homes on the market due to an increase in price.
The outcomes of the BTO exercise in February as well as the launching of Sale of Balance Flats were revealed in the first week of March, and in the final days of March.
SBF launches permit buyers to apply for any remaining flats that were sold during previous BTO sales.
If they’re unable to locate a suitable home for the immediate time frame, and have tried every option and have not been able to find an apartment for the time being, many might consider resale options for housing. This could result in an increase in the prices of resales and the volume.
The absence of BTO launches and an increase in supply resulted in more units being sold.
An increased need for bigger units could be a factor.
In the month of May, 176 executive apartments were resold. It is the most amount of resales in the month since September 2022 when the 15-month waiting period for homeowners to purchase HDB apartments for resales was announced.
40 percent of the 327 million dollars sales of resales from January to May 2024 contained five-room apartments. This indicates a need for bigger homes.
The 74 million dollars apartments that were resold in May comprised 33 units with five rooms. 22 executive apartments are also on the market, along with 18 four-room apartments. A three-room terraced unit was also available.
Most of the flats located in estates that are mature, such as Kallang/Whampoa as well as Bukit Merah. Toa Payoh, Yishun, and Hougang However, six are located in towns that aren’t yet mature, like Jurong East, Bukit Batok, and Yishun.
The flats sold as resales comprised 29% of all resales deals in May. This is exactly the same as April.
The higher percentage of flats sold at more than $1 million may be a sign of buyers in the future who are seeking homes that do not have restrictions on resales and could be in high demand.
The highest-priced HDB flat that was sold in May was a five-room apartment that was 106 square meters between the 37th and 39th floors of the Pinnacle@Duxton building located on Cantonment Road. It sold at $1,515,000.
The demand for resales of apartments is expected to continue to grow as former homeowners who are looking to the market to sell their properties and buyers who have urgent housing requirements.
Resales of homes are also sought-after from those who wish to be in a central location, but don’t want to be governed by the stricter, new classification system.
The place of all BTO apartments that are launched in the second quarter of 2024 will determine if they can be classified as Standard, Prime or Plus. Prime flats located in the most sought-after locations close to the city centre are subject to the most stringent limitations.
In June, the HDB market for resales is expected to slow down since the BTO will be the final one prior to the introduction of the new classification system, and due to the summer holidays.
Homebuyers might be keen in exploring the BTO flat options that were announced in June, as they might want to avail them prior to the end of October BTO exercise to take advantage of the current classification.