No change in HDB resale prices in Q2

SINGAPORE — Prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats for the second quarter of the year remained unchanged from the previous three months, even as more flats changed hands, said the HDB on Friday (July 22).

The figure is a slight revision of flash figures released by the agency earlier this month, which showed that resale prices of flats had gone up 0.1 per cent.

The number of resale transactions increased by 31.2 per cent, from 4,449 cases in the first quarter of the year to 5,838 cases in the second quarter. Most of these were four-room flats (2,473), followed by three-room flats (1,500).

Among three-room flats, the median resale prices ranged from S$270,000 in Woodlands to S$368,000 in Queenstown. For four-room flats, median resale prices ranged from S$357,000 in Choa Chu Kang to S$685,000 in Queenstown. 

As for five-room flats, the median prices ranged from S$413,200 in Choa Chu Kang to S$855,000, again in Queenstown. 

Meanwhile, more applications for the subletting of HDB flats were approved. The number rose by 5.2 per cent, from 11,239 cases in the first quarter to 11,824 cases in the second quarter. 

As at June 30, 52,171 HDB flats were sublet, an increase of 2.2 per cent from the first quarter of the year.

According to the Singapore Real Estate Exchange flash estimates, which are released monthly, resale prices of HDB flats fell 0.6 per cent last month from May, in the biggest month-on-month drop since January this year. 

Overall resale prices were also down 0.6 per cent compared with a year ago, the data showed.

The HDB said that next month, about 4,800 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Hougang, Sembawang, Tampines and Yishun will be on offer. 

In the first half of the year, the HDB offered 13,110 flats, comprising 7,940 BTO flats and 5,170 balance flats. 

In all, 18,000 BTO flats are expected to be launched this year.