More HDB flats approved for subletting as resale prices fall

SINGAPORE — The number of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats approved for subletting rose slightly in the first quarter of this year, the latest HDB figures showed. Between January and March, a total of 385 applications for subletting were approved, a 0.2 per cent increase from the cases approved in final quarter of last year.

As of March 31, a total of 48,338 HDB flats have been sublet, up from 48,120 units in the previous quarter.

The last three months of 2014 saw the number of HDB flats approved for subletting rising to a high of 10,365 cases, up 16.2 per cent from the previous quarter. That brought the total number of flats given approval last year to a record 36,228, up 20.5 per cent from 2013.

Analysts had attributed the trend then to more Singaporeans, who had bought private homes, moving into their new homes and renting out their HDB flats instead of selling, as resale prices continued to decline.

The figures released yesterday also showed resale prices of HDB flats falling in the first quarter of 2015, amid a decrease in the number of transactions.

The Resale Price Index fell 1 per cent, from 137 in the last quarter of 2014 to 135.6 in the first quarter of this year. The number of resale transactions dropped by 10.8 per cent, from 4,635 cases to 4,135 cases during the same time period.

Looking ahead, a total of 9,040 flats will go on sale next month, as part of the upcoming Build-to-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises, the HDB said. There will be 4,040 BTO flats launched for sale in Clementi, Punggol, Sembawang and Tampines, while 5,000 flats will be offered in the concurrent SBF exercise.