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Thread: HDB resale prices, volumes fall; hopes of recovery on hold

  1. #1
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    Default HDB resale prices, volumes fall; hopes of recovery on hold

    http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...covery-on-hold

    HDB resale prices, volumes fall; hopes of recovery on hold

    Feb 5, 2016

    Experts say latest dip is likely seasonal, but expect prices to stay flat over the year

    Yeo Sam Jo


    Both resale prices and transactions for Housing Board flats dropped at the turn of the new year, further delaying hopes of a market recovery.

    Property experts have told The Straits Times it was likely to be a seasonal dip and they expect prices to remain relatively flat over the year.

    Overall prices in both mature and non-mature estates fell 0.5 per cent from December to January, according to flash figures released by SRX Property yesterday.

    This comes after half a year of prices inching up amid a cool market.

    Prices have slid 11.1 per cent since their peak in April 2013, and 1.3 per cent from a year ago.

    Last month's drop was led by three-room and four-room flat prices, which fell by 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

    Five-room and executive flat prices, however, went up by 0.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively.

    The number of transactions also fell. There were 1,286 flats sold in January, down from the 1,407 that changed hands in December.

    This means resale volumes are down 64.8 per cent from their peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.

    PropNex Realty chief executive Mohamed Ismail Gafoor said the dip in price and volume is typical of this period.

    "Most buyers and sellers would be focusing on their work and their children as they begin their school terms," he explained.

    "February will also likely follow a similar trend due to the Chinese New Year holidays."

    ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim said the price decrease is "not a cause for concern", as prices should remain stable for the rest of the year.

    "With HDB's official transaction data often used as the basis for the negotiation of the sale price nowadays, prices rarely differ much from those of recently transacted, comparable units," said Mr Lim.

    But even with stabilising prices, R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng believes the resale market is "nowhere near" a recovery.

    He said price increases would not be sustained as long as property cooling measures, such as the mortgage servicing cap, stay in place.

    This limits the proportion of gross income that can be used to service a loan for an HDB flat to 30 per cent.

    National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said, at the end of last year, that it was still too early to unwind the cooling measures.

    Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam echoed this view on Wednesday, but added that the Government will review the current measures when risks are "less or manageable".

    Overall, HDB resale flats transacted last month went for a median $1,000 under their market value, or X-value.

    The X-value is derived from SRX Property's computer-generated appraisal of home market values.

    It takes into account factors such as unit size, floor level and recent resale prices in the vicinity.

    Flats in Bishan, long popular for being in a centrally-located mature estate, logged a median $19,000 over their X-value last month.


  2. #2
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    Default HDB resale prices down 0.5% in January: SRX

    http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...in-january-srx

    HDB resale prices down 0.5% in January: SRX

    It is the first dip in the monthly index in seven months; consultants see price stability this year

    By Lee Meixian

    [email protected]

    @LeeMeixianBT

    Feb 5, 2016


    HDB resale prices fell 0.5 per cent in January 2016, compared to the month before that.

    This marks the first decline in the monthly index in seven months, data released by SRX Property on Thursday indicated.

    Still, consultants say there should be stable prices in the HDB resale market this year. ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim said: "With HDB's official transaction data often used as the basis for the negotiation of the sale price nowadays, prices rarely differ much from those of recently transacted comparable units. This in turn contributes to the increased price stability in the HDB market.

    "We should continue to see recurring monthly price movements of about 0.5 per cent, either upwards or downwards. These are month-on-month fluctuations and should not be a cause for concern."

    Year on year, HDB resale prices have fallen 1.3 per cent from January 2015. Since the peak in April 2013, prices have fallen 11.1 per cent.

    Resale volume fell slightly with some 1,286 HDB resale flats being sold in January. This is an 8.6 per cent decrease from the 1,407 transacted units the month before.

    Consultants read this as demand "holding steady".

    Mr Lim said: "In February, HDB will be launching its sale exercise with 4,150 build-to-order units, including 1,580 in the popular Bidadari estate. This will probably affect resale demand in some way as buyers hold back to wait for the launch.

    "Resale transactions are likely to pick up in the months of March, April and May, and this would usually set the momentum and pace for the rest of the year."

    He added that HDB resale demand should remain steady this year, with a transaction volume comparable to that of 2015, at about 20,000 units.

    Year on year, the resale volume rose 2.6 per cent, compared to 1,254 units re-sold in January 2015, the data showed.

    Compared to its peak of 3,649 units in May 2010, resale volume was down by 64.8 per cent.

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