HDB resale prices fall for 5th consecutive quarter

SINGAPORE — Resale prices for Housing and Development Board (HDB) fell by 1.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of this year, HDB data showed. (Oct 24).

This is the fifth consecutive decline for the Resale Price Index.

At the same time, resale transactions increased by 2.8 per cent from 4,389 cases from April to June, to 4,513 cases from July to September this year, according to HDB data.

Various measures, including loan curbs and the strong supply of new flats, brought about the sustained price decline, according to PropNex Realty.

Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive officer of PropNex Realty, said he does not expect a turnaround this year, given a looming flood of new homes and the continued impact of property measures such as lower mortgage servicing ratio, shorter loan tenure and a minimum three-year waiting period for permanent residents wanting to buy HDB resale flats.

“Loan curbs and softer prices will ultimately mean that HDB upgraders will find it more prohibitive to upgrade to a private property,” said Mr Ismail.

With a large influx of home completions starting from next year — along with the continued enforcement of government measures, Mr Ismail said HDB resale prices will soften 6 to 7 per cent for the whole of this year, with resale volume hitting around 16,500 to 17,000 units — the lowest in the last decade.

ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that resale prices have fallen by some 6.9 per cent since it peaked in the second quarter of last year.

“This averages out to about 1.4 per cent per quarter,” said Mr Lim. “The moderate price declines show the resilience of the market due to stable economic and employment fundamentals. Also, the measures implemented by the Government are designed to stabilise prices and not cause any huge sudden drop.”

He added: “We are on track for our projection that resale HDB prices would decline by 5 to 8 per cent for the whole of this year.”