New Reporter
13-11-20, 21:46
HDB resale prices rise for fourth straight month in October: SRX
Data indicates demand remains robust amid pandemic; 13 HDB resale flats sold for more than S$1 million
Fri, Nov 06, 2020
WHILE Housing Board (HDB) resale volume dipped in October compared to the month before, prices have continued to rise, indicating that demand has remained relatively robust amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thirteen HDB resale flats were sold for more than S$1 million, flash estimates from real estate portal SRX showed on Thursday. It is the highest number of such transactions for a single month.
The previous high was in June 2018, when 11 million-dollar flats changed hands.
A total of 59 HDB resale flats have been sold for more than S$1 million in the first 10 months of this year.
Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of research and content, noted that this year's figure looks to be on track to surpass the 64 such million-dollar deals recorded last year.
National Development Minister Desmond Lee noted in Parliament last month that HDB resale flats that sell for at least S$1 million made up just 0.3 per cent of total resale transactions this year.
In October, there were 2,436 HDB resale transactions, down by 2.1 per cent from September, showed the SRX data.
The 13 million-dollar flats made up 0.5 per cent of total resale transactions last month.
Of the HDB resale flats sold last month, 41.5 per cent were four-room flats, 26.4 per cent were five-room flats, 20.8 per cent were three-room flats and 9.6 per cent, executive flats.
The rest of the transactions involved multi-generation and two-room flats.
October was the fifth consecutive month in which sales volume stayed above 2,400 units, after rebounding from weak sales during the two-month-long "circuit-breaker" period in April and May.
Overall prices for HDB resale flats rose by 1.2 per cent in October compared to September. It is the fourth consecutive month to see a price increase.
HDB data shows that HDB resale prices rose 1.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of this year.
Orange Tee & Tie head of research and consultancy Christine Sun said large resale flats, especially well-located ones, have been in demand over the past few months.
"This is not surprising, as some families prefer to buy resale flats during a crisis, given that people tend to be more prudent," she said. "For the same price, they can purchase a much bigger flat than a private home."
She noted that singles who are moving out of their family homes to live on their own may have also contributed to the demand, as the work-from-home arrangement looks set to continue into Phase Three for some companies.
PropNex's Ms Wong said that, based on ground feedback from the firm's agents, the asking prices of HDB resale flats have risen in recent months, owing to strong demand and increased sales volume.
"In many cases, the agreed selling price is higher than the market valuation of the unit and buyers have had to pay the difference in cash," she said.
In October, a Design, Build and Sell Scheme five-room flat at Natura Loft in Bishan recorded the highest transacted price at about S$1.2 million.
An executive maisonette in Jurong East was sold for S$820,000 in what was the highest resale price for non-mature estates.
Data from SRX also showed that the overall median transaction over X-value (TOX) was a positive S$3,000 in October - a rise of S$1,000 from September.
Median TOX measures whether people are overpaying (in the case of positive TOX) or underpaying (when TOX is negative) for a property, relative to the SRX's computer-generated estimated market value.
ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said that prior to Covid-19, the Singapore real-estate market would enter a lull in the last quarter of the year, as people go on vacations.
However, with travel restrictions in place in Singapore and in many travel destinations, this year may be the exception.
Mr Mak estimates that the HDB resale volume for 2020 could vary between 23,500 and 24,800 flats, surpassing the 23,714 flats transacted last year.
"With a more active resale market, the HDB resale price index could also edge upwards to end the year with a 2.5 to 3.5 per cent year-on-year increase," he said. THE STRAITS TIMES
Data indicates demand remains robust amid pandemic; 13 HDB resale flats sold for more than S$1 million
Fri, Nov 06, 2020
WHILE Housing Board (HDB) resale volume dipped in October compared to the month before, prices have continued to rise, indicating that demand has remained relatively robust amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thirteen HDB resale flats were sold for more than S$1 million, flash estimates from real estate portal SRX showed on Thursday. It is the highest number of such transactions for a single month.
The previous high was in June 2018, when 11 million-dollar flats changed hands.
A total of 59 HDB resale flats have been sold for more than S$1 million in the first 10 months of this year.
Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of research and content, noted that this year's figure looks to be on track to surpass the 64 such million-dollar deals recorded last year.
National Development Minister Desmond Lee noted in Parliament last month that HDB resale flats that sell for at least S$1 million made up just 0.3 per cent of total resale transactions this year.
In October, there were 2,436 HDB resale transactions, down by 2.1 per cent from September, showed the SRX data.
The 13 million-dollar flats made up 0.5 per cent of total resale transactions last month.
Of the HDB resale flats sold last month, 41.5 per cent were four-room flats, 26.4 per cent were five-room flats, 20.8 per cent were three-room flats and 9.6 per cent, executive flats.
The rest of the transactions involved multi-generation and two-room flats.
October was the fifth consecutive month in which sales volume stayed above 2,400 units, after rebounding from weak sales during the two-month-long "circuit-breaker" period in April and May.
Overall prices for HDB resale flats rose by 1.2 per cent in October compared to September. It is the fourth consecutive month to see a price increase.
HDB data shows that HDB resale prices rose 1.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of this year.
Orange Tee & Tie head of research and consultancy Christine Sun said large resale flats, especially well-located ones, have been in demand over the past few months.
"This is not surprising, as some families prefer to buy resale flats during a crisis, given that people tend to be more prudent," she said. "For the same price, they can purchase a much bigger flat than a private home."
She noted that singles who are moving out of their family homes to live on their own may have also contributed to the demand, as the work-from-home arrangement looks set to continue into Phase Three for some companies.
PropNex's Ms Wong said that, based on ground feedback from the firm's agents, the asking prices of HDB resale flats have risen in recent months, owing to strong demand and increased sales volume.
"In many cases, the agreed selling price is higher than the market valuation of the unit and buyers have had to pay the difference in cash," she said.
In October, a Design, Build and Sell Scheme five-room flat at Natura Loft in Bishan recorded the highest transacted price at about S$1.2 million.
An executive maisonette in Jurong East was sold for S$820,000 in what was the highest resale price for non-mature estates.
Data from SRX also showed that the overall median transaction over X-value (TOX) was a positive S$3,000 in October - a rise of S$1,000 from September.
Median TOX measures whether people are overpaying (in the case of positive TOX) or underpaying (when TOX is negative) for a property, relative to the SRX's computer-generated estimated market value.
ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said that prior to Covid-19, the Singapore real-estate market would enter a lull in the last quarter of the year, as people go on vacations.
However, with travel restrictions in place in Singapore and in many travel destinations, this year may be the exception.
Mr Mak estimates that the HDB resale volume for 2020 could vary between 23,500 and 24,800 flats, surpassing the 23,714 flats transacted last year.
"With a more active resale market, the HDB resale price index could also edge upwards to end the year with a 2.5 to 3.5 per cent year-on-year increase," he said. THE STRAITS TIMES