SINGAPORE — Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale prices fell by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter, marking the fourth straight quarter of modest decline. The resale price index stands at 132.8 in the third quarter, down from 133.7 in the second quarter.

The number of transactions also fell by 3.2 per cent compared to previous quarter, numbering 5,808. Compared to the same period last year, however, the number of resale transactions was 5.3 per cent higher.

In the HDB rental market, the number of applications approved for subletting decreased by 2.1 per cent to 10,698 in the third quarter, compared to 10,929 in the second quarter. Compared to the third quarter last year, the number was 0.8 per cent lower. As at end-September, there were 53,445 HDB flats being sublet – or 0.2 per cent fewer than the 53,540 units in the second quarter.

The HDB will offer about 4,800 Build To Order flats in Geylang, Punggol, Sengkang and Tampines in next month’s BTO exercise, it said. This will take the year’s BTO supply to about 17,500 units.

This month, the public housing authority also announced it would shorten the time taken to buy a resale flat from next year. The transaction could take just eight weeks, or half the current duration, and involve just one trip, instead of two, to HDB’s office sign papers.

The speedier process, from after the Option to Purchase is exercised to the completion of the sale, is because certain submissions will be pushed online to a new portal from Jan 1 next year.