HDB resale prices inch up 0.1% in December: SRX

[reporter2]

HDB resale prices inch up 0.1% in December: SRX

Jan 5, 2018


Resale prices of Housing Board flats ended the year on a modest high note although the number of transactions slumped.

Values inched up 0.1 per cent last month over November, according to flash estimates from SRX Property yesterday. That reversed the 0.1 per cent dip recorded from October to November.

Sales figures told a different story with 1,585 units transacted last month, 19.9 per cent fewer than in November. The number of sales was in line with the property market's quieter year end but still 14 per cent higher than the 1,391 units resold in December 2016.

The SRX's full-year HDB resale price index is down 1.8 per cent from December 2016 and close to the 1.5 per cent full-year decline shown in the Housing Board's official flash estimates released on Tuesday.

SRX data shows that HDB resale prices have declined by 12.5 per cent since their peak in April 2013.

The decline is due in part to a 1.2 per cent fall in prices in mature estates and a 2.3 per cent fall in non-mature ones.

The marginal price increase in December over November was not seen across all flat types.

Resale prices of three-room flats rose 0.2 per cent, while executive units added 1.5 per cent. Five-roomers remained unchanged, while four-room homes dipped 0.9 per cent in value.

PropNex Realty chief executive Ismail Gafoor had earlier said that the price decline last year was mostly due to the greater number of HDB owners selling to upgrade to private property. Consultants generally expect resale prices to stay flat or to increase slightly this year, with demand coming mainly from buyers who are not eligible for new flats or have urgent housing needs.

[reporter2]

HDB resale prices up 0.1% in Dec: SRX

Fri, Jan 05, 2018

Lee Meixian


RESALE prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats edged up 0.1 per cent last month, reversing the 0.1 per cent dip recorded in November, according to flash estimates from SRX Property on Thursday.

There was also a near 20 per cent drop in flats changing hands: 1,585 resale units were sold in December, 19.9 per cent fewer than in November.

The number of transactions, while in line with the property market's quieter year-end, was still 14 per cent higher compared to the 1,391 units resold in December 2016.

With its latest monthly figures, SRX's full-year HDB resale price index is down 1.8 per cent from December 2016, close to the 1.5 per cent full-year decline shown in HDB's official flash estimates released on Tuesday.

SRX publishes transaction data on a monthly basis. According to its index, HDB resale prices have declined by 12.5 per cent since their peak in April 2013.

Contributing to the decline seen in the SRX full-year index was the price drops in both mature and non-mature estates, where resale prices fell 1.2 per cent and 2.3 per cent year-on-year.

Month-on-month, the marginal price increase in December was not seen across all flat types.

The resale prices of three-room and executive flats rose by 0.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively, while prices of five-room flats remained unchanged and four-room flats saw a 0.9 per cent drop.

PropNex Realty CEO Ismail Gafoor had earlier said that the price decline in 2017 was mostly due to the greater number of HDB owners selling their properties to upgrade to private property.

Consultants generally expect resale prices to stay flat or increase slightly this year, with demand coming especially from buyers who are not eligible for new flats or have urgent housing needs.