HDB resale volume grew 8.1 per cent last month

SINGAPORE — The resale volume for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats grew by 8.1 per cent in May from a month before, while prices dipped 0.1 per cent, flash estimates from SRX Property showed on Thursday (June 8).

A total of 1,983 HDB resale flats were sold last month, up from 1,834 units that exchanged hands in April, the property data portal said. 

Year-on-year, the resale volume increased by 7.5 per cent compared with 1,844 units resold in May last year. 

Still, last month’s resale volume was down by 45.7 per cent, compared with its peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.

Prices of HDB resale prices saw a slight easing last month compared with April. 

The resale prices of five-room and HDB executive flats increased by 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively. 

Prices of four-room flats fell by 0.1 per cent, while those of three-room flats remained unchanged, SRX said.

Buyers appeared to be prepared to pay a bit more for resale HDB flats in mature estates, with prices in these areas increasing by 0.2 per cent, while those in non-mature estates decreased by 0.4 per cent.

Last month also saw the overall median Transaction Over X-Value (TOX) — a measure of how much a buyer is underpaying or overpaying for a unit — at negative S$2,000, compared with negative S$1,000 in April.

The median TOX for HDB three-room, four-room, five-room and executive flats last month were negative S$3,000, zero, negative S$3,000 and negative S$1,500 respectively.

For HDB towns having more than 10 resale transactions with TOX last month, Bishan reported the highest median TOX of S$10,000, followed by S$3,500 in Jurong East. 

This indicates that the majority of buyers in these areas bought their resale flats above the market value.

Among HDB towns with more than 10 resale transactions with TOX last month, the lowest median TOX was in Toa Payoh at negative S$16,000, followed by Sembawang at negative $10,000, suggesting that the buyers in these estates have purchased units below the market value.