HDB resale volume falls 22.3% in Q1 as prices drop 0.8%

THE number of Housing Board resale flats sold fell in the first quarter of this year as compared to the previous three months.

Public housing data released by HDB on Friday showed that a total of 4,458 resale transactions took place in the first three months of 2018, compared to 5,738 transactions in the fourth quarter of last year. This is a drop of 22.3 per cent.

Compared to the first quarter of last year, the number of HDB resale flats transacted in the first quarter of this year also fell 1.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, the number of HDB flats rented out rose as the number of approved applications to rent out HDB flats increased by 3.9 per cent, from 11,279 cases in the final quarter of last year to 11,721 cases this year.

This marks a 17.4 per cent increase from the same quarter last year.

Figures at the end of March this year showed that there are currently 54,329 HDB flats being rented out, up 1.1 per cent from the previous quarter's figures.

HDB resale prices also dipped 0.8 per cent in the first three months of 2018 for the sixth consecutive quarter, confirming estimates by HDB reported earlier this month.

This is the steepest decrease from the past six quarters and an acceleration from the price decline of 0.2 per cent seen in the final quarter of 2017.

HDB will offer 3,900 build-to-order (BTO) flats in Sengkang, Tampines, Toa Payoh and Yishun as part of the 17,000 BTO flats up for sale this year.

Alongside May's BTO exercise, there will also be a concurrent Sale of Balance Flats exercise in May.

THE STRAITS TIMES