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13-02-15, 00:01
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/januarys-marginal-rise-in-hdb-resale-prices-a-blip-say-property-consultants
HDB RESALE PRICES
January's marginal rise in HDB resale prices a blip, say property consultants
By Lynette Khoo
[email protected]@LynetteKhooBT
6 Feb
PRICES of HDB resale flats registered a marginal 0.6 per cent month-on-month rise in January, going by flash estimates from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX), but property consultants noted that this does not signal a turnaround of the market.
"The increase has more to do with the up and down fluctuations that are associated with tracking prices on a monthly basis," said ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim. "We expect prices to be muted, at least for the first half this year."
Compared to a year ago, prices still marked a drop of 5.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent from the peak in April 2013, according to SRX flash estimates.
Official figures from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) last month showed that HDB resale prices dropped 6 per cent for the entire year of 2014.
According to SRX, January's resale price increases were seen in both mature and non-mature estates, where prices inched up 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent month on month respectively.
In terms of flat types, four and five-room flats saw resale prices climbing 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. In contrast, the resale prices for HDB three-room and executive flats dipped 0.9 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.
R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng noted that strong buyers' interest for the Pinnacle @ Duxton in January could have lifted overall resale prices slightly in January.
"The units transacted here are four-room and five-room flats, and gels with the fact that four-room and five-room flat prices are more resilient in January," he said.
At the iconic Pinnacle @ Duxton, nine four-room flats were sold between S$818,000 and S$955,000 last month, two five-room flats were sold for S$918,000 and S$980,000 while one five-room flat broke the S$1 million mark. Flats there are starting to come on the market, as the five-year minimum occupation period for most of the project's home owners ended last month.
But Mr Lim noted that these "headline prices" are the minority. The majority of resale flats will still be subjected to the conservative appetites of buyers whose loan quantums are limited by the mortgage servicing ratio of 30 per cent.
"In addition, prices are agreed on between the seller and buyer before the buyer moves on to obtain the valuation report that is needed for financing purposes. So, we do not expect buyers to offer bullish prices," he said.
Based on HDB resale data compiled by SRX Property, 1,255 HDB resale flats were sold in January, marking a fall of 3.1 per cent from December but a 15.3 per cent increase from a year ago. Resale volumes slumped 65.6 per cent from its peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.
HSR Research pointed out that the 15.3 per cent year-on-year increase is "an encouraging sign that more buyers are entering the market as prices become more attractive".
HDB resale prices continued to face downward pressures in January, with the median transacted price at a negative S$1,000 from SRX's computer-generated market value called the X-value.
But there was a strong trend reversal in Geylang, HSR Research pointed out. The median transacted price there swung from a negative S$3,000 below X-value in December to a positive S$8,400 above X-value in January, suggesting that URA's proposal to rezone some residential parts of Geylang for commercial use could raise home prices in the area.
HDB RESALE PRICES
January's marginal rise in HDB resale prices a blip, say property consultants
By Lynette Khoo
[email protected]@LynetteKhooBT
6 Feb
PRICES of HDB resale flats registered a marginal 0.6 per cent month-on-month rise in January, going by flash estimates from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX), but property consultants noted that this does not signal a turnaround of the market.
"The increase has more to do with the up and down fluctuations that are associated with tracking prices on a monthly basis," said ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim. "We expect prices to be muted, at least for the first half this year."
Compared to a year ago, prices still marked a drop of 5.7 per cent and 9.4 per cent from the peak in April 2013, according to SRX flash estimates.
Official figures from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) last month showed that HDB resale prices dropped 6 per cent for the entire year of 2014.
According to SRX, January's resale price increases were seen in both mature and non-mature estates, where prices inched up 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent month on month respectively.
In terms of flat types, four and five-room flats saw resale prices climbing 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. In contrast, the resale prices for HDB three-room and executive flats dipped 0.9 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.
R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng noted that strong buyers' interest for the Pinnacle @ Duxton in January could have lifted overall resale prices slightly in January.
"The units transacted here are four-room and five-room flats, and gels with the fact that four-room and five-room flat prices are more resilient in January," he said.
At the iconic Pinnacle @ Duxton, nine four-room flats were sold between S$818,000 and S$955,000 last month, two five-room flats were sold for S$918,000 and S$980,000 while one five-room flat broke the S$1 million mark. Flats there are starting to come on the market, as the five-year minimum occupation period for most of the project's home owners ended last month.
But Mr Lim noted that these "headline prices" are the minority. The majority of resale flats will still be subjected to the conservative appetites of buyers whose loan quantums are limited by the mortgage servicing ratio of 30 per cent.
"In addition, prices are agreed on between the seller and buyer before the buyer moves on to obtain the valuation report that is needed for financing purposes. So, we do not expect buyers to offer bullish prices," he said.
Based on HDB resale data compiled by SRX Property, 1,255 HDB resale flats were sold in January, marking a fall of 3.1 per cent from December but a 15.3 per cent increase from a year ago. Resale volumes slumped 65.6 per cent from its peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.
HSR Research pointed out that the 15.3 per cent year-on-year increase is "an encouraging sign that more buyers are entering the market as prices become more attractive".
HDB resale prices continued to face downward pressures in January, with the median transacted price at a negative S$1,000 from SRX's computer-generated market value called the X-value.
But there was a strong trend reversal in Geylang, HSR Research pointed out. The median transacted price there swung from a negative S$3,000 below X-value in December to a positive S$8,400 above X-value in January, suggesting that URA's proposal to rezone some residential parts of Geylang for commercial use could raise home prices in the area.