reporter2
10-05-19, 11:11
HDB resale volume up 16.5% in April, resale prices slip 0.4%: SRX
Observers say the property market usually ramps up in Q2; also, older flats are now attractively priced
Fri, May 10, 2019
THE volume of Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats changing hands rose by 16.5 per cent in April from the previous month, while prices eased slightly.
According to flash estimates from real estate portal SRX Property on Thursday, 1,931 resale flats were sold in April, up from 1,657 transactions in March.
Last month's volume also marked a 4.3 per cent increase from April last year.
OrangeTee & Tie research and consultancy head Christine Sun said that the increase in sales is "within expectation", as there are many flats reaching their five-year minimum occupation period this year, making them eligible for resale.
She said the increase could also be caused by a seasonal effect, as housing activities usually ramp up from the second quarter of the year.
Nicholas Mak, the executive director of ZACD Group, said the steady increase in HDB resale transaction volumes for the two straight months of March and April "could be due to more buyers and sellers returning to the market after the Chinese New Year holiday period".
Ms Sun further noted that policy tweaks that may allow buyers to use more Central Provident Funds to purchase older flats may spur demand for older flats in the coming months.
"Some older flats are currently attractively priced, especially those located within mature estates, which boast a host of amenities and are near the city centre," she said.
Data from SRX also showed a 0.4 per cent dip in April's resale prices, compared with those of March. This was a 0.6 per cent slide down from April last year, and a 14 per cent drop from the peak in April 2013.
Mature estates recorded a year-on-year price decrease of 1.4 per cent, while prices for non-mature estates remained stagnant.
The prices of mature estates dipped 0.7 per cent in April from those of March; non-mature estates had a price decrease of 0.1 per cent.
The only prices that increased were those of four-room flats, with a slight jump of 0.2 per cent. The prices of three-room, five-room and executive flats fell by 1.6 per cent, 0.2 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively.
Ms Sun said the overall price slide was a result of increased housing supply. The price dip in mature estates could also be attributed to a general price weakness of older flats in such estates.
"Some owners may have accepted lower price offers in light of rising competition from newer flats in non-mature estates reaching their five-year minimum occupancy period and concerns about the depreciating value of ageing flats," she said.
Mr Mak said the HDB resale price index has been "range-bound" for the past year and this trend was likely to continue "unless there is a major change in the HDB housing policy which will significant affect the HDB resale market".
Meanwhile, the SRX report noted that the overall median transaction over X-Value (TOX) was negative S$1,000 in April, a S$1,000 decrease from March.
The median TOX measures whether people are overpaying (in the case of a positive TOX) or underpaying (when there is a negative TOX), relative to the SRX Property X-Value estimated market value for flats.
The median TOX for 5-room flats and executive flats were S$3,000 and S$2,000 respectively. On the other hand, three-room and four-room flats had a median TOX of negative $2,000 and $1,000 respectively.
Out of all the HDB towns with more than 10 resale transactions, Pasir Ris had the highest median TOX at S$7,000, followed by Sengkang at S$4,000.
Ang Mo Kio had the lowest median TOX value of negative S$7,500, followed by Clementi and Queenstown at negative S$7,000.
Observers say the property market usually ramps up in Q2; also, older flats are now attractively priced
Fri, May 10, 2019
THE volume of Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats changing hands rose by 16.5 per cent in April from the previous month, while prices eased slightly.
According to flash estimates from real estate portal SRX Property on Thursday, 1,931 resale flats were sold in April, up from 1,657 transactions in March.
Last month's volume also marked a 4.3 per cent increase from April last year.
OrangeTee & Tie research and consultancy head Christine Sun said that the increase in sales is "within expectation", as there are many flats reaching their five-year minimum occupation period this year, making them eligible for resale.
She said the increase could also be caused by a seasonal effect, as housing activities usually ramp up from the second quarter of the year.
Nicholas Mak, the executive director of ZACD Group, said the steady increase in HDB resale transaction volumes for the two straight months of March and April "could be due to more buyers and sellers returning to the market after the Chinese New Year holiday period".
Ms Sun further noted that policy tweaks that may allow buyers to use more Central Provident Funds to purchase older flats may spur demand for older flats in the coming months.
"Some older flats are currently attractively priced, especially those located within mature estates, which boast a host of amenities and are near the city centre," she said.
Data from SRX also showed a 0.4 per cent dip in April's resale prices, compared with those of March. This was a 0.6 per cent slide down from April last year, and a 14 per cent drop from the peak in April 2013.
Mature estates recorded a year-on-year price decrease of 1.4 per cent, while prices for non-mature estates remained stagnant.
The prices of mature estates dipped 0.7 per cent in April from those of March; non-mature estates had a price decrease of 0.1 per cent.
The only prices that increased were those of four-room flats, with a slight jump of 0.2 per cent. The prices of three-room, five-room and executive flats fell by 1.6 per cent, 0.2 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively.
Ms Sun said the overall price slide was a result of increased housing supply. The price dip in mature estates could also be attributed to a general price weakness of older flats in such estates.
"Some owners may have accepted lower price offers in light of rising competition from newer flats in non-mature estates reaching their five-year minimum occupancy period and concerns about the depreciating value of ageing flats," she said.
Mr Mak said the HDB resale price index has been "range-bound" for the past year and this trend was likely to continue "unless there is a major change in the HDB housing policy which will significant affect the HDB resale market".
Meanwhile, the SRX report noted that the overall median transaction over X-Value (TOX) was negative S$1,000 in April, a S$1,000 decrease from March.
The median TOX measures whether people are overpaying (in the case of a positive TOX) or underpaying (when there is a negative TOX), relative to the SRX Property X-Value estimated market value for flats.
The median TOX for 5-room flats and executive flats were S$3,000 and S$2,000 respectively. On the other hand, three-room and four-room flats had a median TOX of negative $2,000 and $1,000 respectively.
Out of all the HDB towns with more than 10 resale transactions, Pasir Ris had the highest median TOX at S$7,000, followed by Sengkang at S$4,000.
Ang Mo Kio had the lowest median TOX value of negative S$7,500, followed by Clementi and Queenstown at negative S$7,000.