HDB resale prices up 0.2% in December, the lowest gain in 30 months: SRX, 99.co

Property cooling measures, high interest rates and resistance to high prices continue to weigh on demand

Jan 06, 2023

THE growth in resale prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats has slowed to 0.2 per cent in December, according to flash figures released by SRX and 99.co on Thursday (Jan 5).

This marks the lowest price increase in a 30-month rally that started in June 2020, as property cooling measures, high interest rates and buyer resistance to high prices continue to weigh on demand.

For the month of December, resale prices in mature estates remained unchanged, while non-mature estates experienced a price gain of 0.3 per cent from the previous month. The prices of most room types increased, with three-room, four-room and five-room flats rising 0.6 per cent, 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively. Executive flats, meanwhile, were down 0.4 per cent.

Year on year, overall resale prices were up 9.4 per cent, compared with the 13.6 per cent price growth recorded in 2021.

Resale volumes rose for the second straight month, advancing 4.8 per cent, with 2,242 HDB resale flats changing hands. Year on year, however, resale volumes were 7.7 per cent lower.

A majority of HDB resale transactions (61.5 per cent) took place in non-mature estates, while the remaining came from mature estates. By room type, 44.4 per cent of resale deals were for four-room flats, followed by 25.4 per cent for three-room flats and 5.9 per cent from executive flats. The rest were from other room types.

The most expensive HDB flat resold was S$1.3 million for an executive maisonette unit at Toh Yi Drive, while the highest transacted price in non-mature estates was S$1.04 million for an executive maisonette unit at Hougang Street 21.

The number of million-dollar HDB flat transactions rose slightly in December from the month before. Around 28 such deals took place, compared with 26 million-dollar HDB flats in November.

Bishan recorded the most number of million-dollar HDB flat transactions with five flats sold, followed by Bukit Merah, the Central Area and Toa Payoh, which each recorded three such transactions.

Total resale volumes for the entire 2022 stood at 26,806 transactions, 8.1 per cent lower than the 29,181 recorded in 2021. 99 Group head of research Pow Ying Khuan observed that the median resale price for the whole of 2022 reached S$527,000, up 8.7 per cent from 2021.

Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip said: “Except for flats which are newer or have unique attributes, most of the flats are sold close to the last transacted prices, reflecting a slight shift in bargaining power to buyers.”

Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice-president of research and analytics, noted that the monthly price growth over the past three months has been below 1 per cent, shortly after property curbs were implemented in September 2022.

“The latest wave of cooling measures seem effective in putting the brakes on the red-hot housing market and there are signs that prices may be cooling,” she added.

The gentler rise in HDB resale prices may have also encouraged more buyers to return to the property market, as evidenced by the recovery in resale volume.

Marcus Chu, chief executive of ERA Realty Network, said the gradual recovery in transaction volume occurred despite the traditionally slower property market during the year-end school holiday and festive season.

“Looking ahead, we expect price growth in 2023 to moderate further as price resistance may have started kicking in, following an extended price rally since July 2020,” 99 Group’s Pow said. He expects resale volumes to be on par with 2022 or trend slightly lower as HDB plans to launch another 23,000 Build-to-Order flats this year, which would divert some demand away.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/pro...onths-srx-99co