Rate of HDB resale price decline slows even further in Q2

PRICES of resale Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats fell 0.4 per cent in Q2 2015 from Q1 2015, according to flash estimates released by the HDB on Wednesday.

This is the eighth straight quarter of price declines. But the 0.4 per cent fall in Q2 is the smallest in more than 111/2 years.

More detailed public housing data for the second quarter will be released on July 24.

HDB added that it will further taper the Build-To-Order (BTO) flat supply in 2015, to 15,000 flats, and will augment this with over 9,000 flats offered under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises in 2015, to ensure adequate supply to meet the demand.

In the first half of this year, HDB had offered 8,039 flats in two BTO exercises and 5,387 flats in one SBF exercise.

HDB said it will offer another 4,860 BTO flats in Bidadari and Punggol Northshore by September 2015. About 4,000 flats will be offered in a concurrent SBF exercise, it added.