HDB resale prices continue to rise for 19th consecutive quarter
HDB resale prices have increased by 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking the 19th consecutive quarter of growth in the secondary public housing market. This brings the total price increase for the whole of 2024 to 9.7%. According to experts, this significant increase can be largely attributed to the limited supply of flats that have reached their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) during the year.
Compared to the previous quarter, where resale prices rose by 2.7%, the increase in the fourth quarter of 2024 has moderated slightly. Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research & data analytics at SRI, believes that the strong growth in resale prices throughout 2024 was due to the limited supply of flats that reached their MOP, which led to upward pressure on prices. He also notes that buyers have shown a strong interest in newer flats and larger flat types, such as five-room and executive units, which cater to growing family needs.
Five-room flats recorded the highest resale price growth in the HDB resale market in the fourth quarter of 2024, with an average price increase of 2.2% to $754,097. Similarly, the prices of four-room flats also increased by 2.2% in the same period, reaching an average of $652,544. The Central Area saw the highest increase in prices, growing by 25.6%, followed by Toa Payoh, Tampines, Bishan, and Bedok.
In total, there were 285 HDB resale flats sold for $1 million or more in the last three months of 2024. This brings the total number of million-dollar HDB resale transactions for the whole year to 1,035. Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, notes that more than 90% of these transactions occurred in mature estates, with the Kallang/Whampoa estate seeing the highest number of million-dollar flats changing hands at 156 units.
However, despite the continuous price growth, the transaction volume in the HDB resale market fell by 21.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This can be attributed to seasonal factors such as the year-end holiday and festive season. Additionally, the lower interest rate environment may have also encouraged some buyers to move to the private residential market or the Executive Condominium (EC) market. Some prospective buyers may have also chosen to ballot for a flat in the latest Build-to-Order (BTO) sales exercise, which took place in October 2024.
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Looking at the overall resale transaction volume for 2024, there was an 8.4% increase from the previous year, with a total of 28,986 units sold. This marks the largest number of yearly resale transactions since 2021. The top five most popular HDB towns among buyers in 2024 were Sengkang, Woodlands, Punggol, Tampines, and Yishun.
Moving forward, approximately 6,976 flats are expected to reach the end of their MOP this year, which is a 41.6% decrease from the previous year. This is due to the relatively fewer BTO flats completed in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, HDB has announced plans to launch over 25,000 new flats across three BTO sales exercises in 2025, which will comprise 19,600 BTO flats and over 5,500 flats under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise. The substantial ramp-up in public housing supply aims to address the growing demand for housing. Additionally, about 3,800 units of the 19,600 BTO flats planned for launch in 2025 will be designated as Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats, offering wait times of less than three years.
Experts predict a further increase in resale prices in the HDB market for 2025, with Sandrasegeran forecasting a 3.5% to 5.5% increase and Lee projecting a 5% to 8% increase.