Spike in million-dollar deals, strong volumes nudge HDB resale prices up further in July
Resale volumes surge 39.6 per cent on the month to 3,049 flats
THE number of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats resold at more than S$1 million hit another all-time high in July with 120 transactions, while overall resale prices continued to rise on strong market volumes in the month.
Flash estimates from SRX and 99.co released on Tuesday (Aug 6) showed that HDB resale prices grew 0.6 per cent month on month.
The number of HDB flats sold for at least S$1 million rose 25 per cent on the month to 120 units in July, compared with 96 in June. In all, million-dollar deals made up 3.9 per cent of total resale volumes last month.
The jump in high-value sales in July brought the tally of million-dollar flat sales to 543, more than the 470 recorded in the whole of 2023.
Out of all the million-dollar transactions, 47 were flats in new projects that were put on the resale market after reaching their five-year minimum occupancy period (MOP). They included flats in Ghim Moh Edge, St George’s Tower and McNair Towers.
Prices for the four-room flats in these Build-To-Order projects ranged between S$450,000 and S$595,000, based on data provided by Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg.
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Flats in Kallang/Whampoa recorded the most million-dollar transactions with 23 units changing hands, followed by Bukit Merah with 21 and Queenstown with 18.
Resale prices rose 0.5 per cent in mature estates and 0.6 per cent in non-mature estates from the previous month.
Prices for three-room flats were up 0.3 per cent on the month, while prices for four-roomers and executive units rose 1.3 per cent each. Meanwhile, prices for five-room flats inched down 0.1 per cent.
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Resale volumes surged 39.6 per cent on the month to 3,049 flats, versus 2,184 flats in June. Compared with the corresponding period the previous year, resale volumes were 48.3 per cent higher.
Overall, by room type, four-room flats were the most popular during the month, raking in 46 per cent of total volumes. Demand for three-roomers accounted for 24.9 per cent of resale volumes, and five-roomers for 23.5 per cent. Around 5.6 per cent of transactions were for executive flats.
More than half (59.5 per cent) of resale flat transactions were from non-mature estates.
Luqman Hakim, chief data and analytics officer at 99.co, said: “While July has always been the month where resale volume picks up after the June holidays, this year saw a marked increase that can only suggest that more private property owners are downgrading to HDBs, albeit of the premium-type and/or premium-location ones, with a marked increase of million-dollar homes also supporting this view.”
A surge in million-dollar transactions
Mogul’s Mak said that the surge in high-value sales could be attributed to the increase in household income, as well as the new BTO classification system taking effect in October.
Flats launched from October will be classified under the Standard, Plus or Prime categories, replacing the current classification of mature and non-mature estates.
Mak pointed out that most of the million-dollar deals are located in areas where the new flats would be classified as Plus or Prime. The new Plus or Prime flats come with a 10-year MOP, as opposed to the five-year MOP of resale flats, he added.
Additionally, analysts highlighted that buyers’ concerns about being priced out contributed to robust demand in the HDB resale market.
Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, said that due to a drop in the number of listings, buyers faced limited choices when selecting their flats. “The continued climb in HDB resale prices also created a sense of being priced out if they hold back. These reasons hastened the purchase for some buyers,” he added.
First and second-timers who were unable to secure a BTO flat have also turned to the resale market, said Wong Shanting, ERA Singapore’s head of research and market intelligence. And with the new classification system commencing in the October BTO exercise, buyers are likely to face more stringent resale conditions, thus driving up demand for resale flats, she added.
Year on year, overall prices gained 7.6 per cent. Mature estate resale prices were up 7.8 per cent, while non-mature prices were up 7.5 per cent.
Four-room flats had the highest increase in resale prices at 8.7 per cent, followed by five-roomers at 7.6 per cent, three-roomers at 6.6 per cent and executive flats at 6.3 per cent.
The highest transacted price for a resale flat was S$1.57 million for a five-room flat at Bishan Street 24. In non-mature estates, the most expensive flat resold was a five-roomer at Punggol Field for S$1.23 million.
Analysts believe that the demand for HDB resale flats will remain robust. With the next BTO exercise only taking place in October and the next Sale of Balance Flats exercise in February next year, head of research and data analytics at Singapore Realtors Mohan Sandrasegeran expects more potential homebuyers to turn to the resale market.
“This extended gap between the two exercises is likely to influence prospective homeowners, especially those in urgent need of housing, to explore the resale market as an alternative,” he explained.
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