HDB resale prices down 0.2% in September

The prices of three-room HDBs fell 0.6%.

HDB resale prices dipped 0.2% MoM in September as both mature and non-mature estate prices fell by 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, according to an SRX report.

The monthly headline figure is 0.1% higher than that of September 2018, but is 14.1% lower than its peak in April 2013. On a quarterly basis, resale prices slipped 0.1% in Q3, extending its downward trend from Q2.

Furthermore, the report noted that non-mature estates price rose 0.9% YoY whilst mature estates price decreased 1.2%.

“The price growth could be attributed to more flats reaching their five-year minimum occupation period in non-mature estates, and these flats are able to command good prices given their fresher leases and newer product designs,” said Christine Sun, head of research & consultancy at OrangTee & Tie.

Also read: HDB changes occupancy cap to 6 persons for 4-room flats

“We may expect overall prices to remain flat for the rest of the year, trending between 0 to -1 per cent for the whole of this year,” she added.

Overall HDB resale transactions in September were down 4.9% MoM and 6.3% YoY to 1,875 units. Sun describes as a seasonal decline given that the number of transactions similarly dipped in September for the past three years.

HDB three-room prices dipped by 0.6% MoM, whilst four-room, five-room and executive prices rose 0.5%, 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively. About 39.6% of total transaction came from HDB four-room, 25.7% from three-room, 24.9% from five-room and 7.6% from executive.

The highest transacted price for a resale flat in September is a four-room unit at The Pinnacle @ Duxton and a 34-year-old executive Maisonette unit at Bishan for $1.04m. Amongst non-mature Estates, the highest transacted price was a 27-year-old executive Maisonette unit at Hougang transacted at $835,000.

“Resale flats may now be more attractive to some buyers given the recent policy changes such as enhancing the housing grants and allowing buyers to use more Central Provident Funds monies to buy HDB flats. However, we have noticed more sellers raising their asking prices after the policy changes, which may slow down the pace of sales growth in the coming months,” Sun commented.

In addition, the overall median transaction over X-value (T-O-X) is negative $2,000 in September. This represented a dip of $1,000 as compared to August, suggesting that people are underpaying.

Only five-room witnessed positive median T-O-X of $1,000 in the same month. HDB three-room, four-room, and executive recorded negative median T-O-X $2,500, $1,000 and $6,000 respectively.

Bukit Panjang posted the highest median T-O-X at positive $8,000 on September 2019, whilst Ang Mo Kio saw the lowest median T-O-X at negative $11,500.