SINGAPORE – Housing Board resale prices rose from September to October despite fewer units sold, flash data showed on Thursday (Nov 4).
Prices were 0.9 per cent higher in October, marking the 16th straight month of increases. Hikes were seen in both mature and non-mature estates and across all flat types.
There were 2,505 HDB resale transactions, down 0.6 per cent from the 2,518 units sold in September, according to real estate portal SRX.
Around 40 per cent of the units sold in October were four-room flats.
There were some headline deals, with 20 HDB units selling for more than $1 million in October, with a five-room Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) unit at Natura Loft in Bishan leading the way at $1.26 million.
The highest sale price in non-mature estates was the $980,000 forked out for an executive apartment unit in Woodlands.
The number of million-dollar units sold in October was still down on the 23 moved in September. This also represented 0.8 per cent of the total resale volume for the month.
Although the number of transactions fell, analysts reckon demand is still resilient given the Covid-19 restrictions on viewing and the cap on visitor numbers.
That indicates “that there are still many genuine buyers who are in need of immediate housing”, said Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie.
“Some people may also be buying a flat now for fear that prices could rise further when our borders fully reopen and more buyers return to the market, including permanent residents and Singaporeans coming back to Singapore.”
She noted that October’s sales volume was 2.8 per cent higher than the same month last year and above the 12-month average of 2,410 units from October 2020 to September this year.
But Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip said that “while demand for HDB resale flats remained robust because of construction delays, it has probably peaked and stabilised”.
He added that resistance is rising towards paying more for a HDB flat, although buyer appetite will likely continue for the rest of the year and bring the number of million-dollar flats sold to 230 for 2021.
There were 194 HDB flats sold for more than $1 million in the first 10 months of the year, up 228.8 per cent on the same period last year.