Hey, have you been keeping an eye on the HDB resale market? It looks like it’s been slowing down a bit. Resale prices seem to have leveled off, and in September, they even took a 0.5% dip. That’s a shift from the slight 0.1% increase in August.
Did you also notice fewer HDBs getting resold in September? Sales dropped nearly 20% compared to August. Some are saying it might be due to the Ghost month, which was between August and September. And with HDB pushing back their new flat offers, you might be considering those new spots in places like Kallang Whampoa and Queenstown.
By the way, the average resale price for HDBs dipped a bit to $574,554 in September. But year over year, it’s still up by about 1.7%. With the new rules and rising interest rates, do you think that’s causing some resistance in HDB resale prices?
In September, the average prices for 4-room flats and executive flats went down by 1.4% and 1.3% respectively. That’s a change from the increases we saw the month before. On the other hand, the 3-room and 5-room flats? Their average resale prices actually went up a bit, with 0.7% and 0.5% increases from August to September. You can see the details in Table 1.”
Taken a look at the recent HDB resale trends broken down by towns and flat types. It’s quite a mix. Most segments saw month-on-month drops, but there’s an exception for the 3-room and 5-room flats in mature towns. Their average resale prices went up in September, with increases of 1.6% and 2.0% respectively. But here’s something notable: Executive flats in non-mature estates took a pretty big hit. They had the largest drop of 4.2% month-on-month, bringing their average resale price down to $763,510 in September. You can see the full breakdown in Table 2.”
Mature towns are leading the pack, especially when you look at the average resale prices per square foot ($PSF) for different flat types. You can see all the details in Table 3. For 4-room flats, the Central Area topped the list with an average of $988 psf. The Central Area and Bishan posted the highest average unit resale price for 5-room flats and executive flats in September 2023 at $928 psf and $727 psf, respectively.
Now, here’s something to ponder: The drop in million-dollar resale flats sold in September might have pulled down the unit prices for 4-room and 5-room flats in the Central Area. In August, there were eight of those big-ticket sales, but come September? Just three.”
From the resale transaction figures, we see that in September, roughly 35.8% of the resale flats went for under $500,000, a slight decrease from August’s 36.4%. Flats that sold between $500,000 and just shy of $1 million made up about 62.1% of September’s transactions, a small rise from 61.4% in August. Additionally, those fetching a price of $1 million or more represented about 2.1% of sales in September, a dip from August’s 2.2% (Refer to Chart 2).
For September 2023, mature towns dominated the top 3 spots when looking at average resale prices per square foot ($PSF) for different flat types (refer to Table 3). Central Area led the way for 4-room flats with an average of $988 psf. For 5-room and executive flats, both Central Area and Bishan stood out, recording $928 psf and $727 psf respectively.
The dip in million-dollar resale flats sold in September, compared to August 2023, might have influenced the lower unit prices for 4-room and 5-room flats in Central Area. Specifically, Central Area saw eight of these high-value sales in August, but this number dropped to three in September.
Resale transaction figures for September reveal that roughly 35.8% of the flats sold went for less than $500,000, a slight drop from August’s 36.4%. In contrast, flats fetching between $500,000 and nearly $1 million represented about 62.1% of September’s transactions, a marginal increase from 61.4% in August. Additionally, flats that sold for $1 million or more made up around 2.1% of the September sales, a decrease from the 2.2% seen in August 2023. For a visual representation, refer to Chart 2.
Out of the 42 flats that sold for a million dollars or more, four are in newer towns: Jurong East, Woodlands, Punggol, and Bukit Panjang. The rest? They’re spread out in places like Toa Payoh with 7 units, Bukit Merah and Bishan both having 6, and a few others like Bukit Timah, Kallang Whampoa, and Central Area with 3 units each. Some towns like Geylang, Serangoon, Queenstown, and Clementi had 2 units each, and Ang Mo Kio and Bedok had one each.
Now, the most expensive HDB resale flat in September? That’s an executive maisonette in Bishan Street 24, going for $1.45 million. It’s pretty spacious at 172 sqm. Then, there were two 5-room flats each selling for $1.43 million. One’s in Henderson Road, on floors 34 to 36, and is 113 sqm. The other? It’s a special DBSS 5-room flat in Bishan Street 24, also between the 34th and 36th floors, but a bit bigger at 120 sqm. You can check out the details in Table 4.
After a solid two-year rise in HDB resale prices, things are starting to level out. Why? Well, those three cooling measures since December 2021 played a part, calming the market’s excitement. Plus, people are becoming more cautious about high prices. With new BTO flats popping up in popular spots and some even having shorter wait times, some potential buyers might skip the resale market. PropNex thinks both the number of sales and the prices in the HDB resale market will stay steady as we head into the last quarter of 2023.
Now, here’s something to keep an eye on: the price trends of private homes. If those prices stay flat while HDB resale prices inch up, some HDB owners might think about moving to private properties. And there’s another twist. Starting in the second half of 2024, there’ll be stricter rules for selling Plus and Prime flats. This might push some folks to go for resale flats, which aren’t affected by these new rules.