HDB Resale Price Increase

Fewer units also changed hands in the second quarter of 2023, with resale volume estimated to be 6,409 units. PHOTO: ST FILE

The HDB Resale Price Index (RPI) is a measure used in Singapore to track and report changes in the prices of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats in the resale market over time. HDB flats are public housing units in Singapore, and the resale market refers to transactions where existing HDB flat owners sell their properties to other individuals or families.

HDB Resale Price Index is published regularly by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and provides valuable information for homeowners, buyers, policymakers, and researchers. It helps stakeholders understand the trends and movements in the resale market, including whether prices are increasing, decreasing, or remaining stable.

HDB Resale Price Index History (Summary Table)

The HDB Resale Price Index is typically calculated based on various factors, including the location, size, and age of the flats, as well as the economic conditions and housing demand in Singapore. Here is a summary of the HDB Resale Price Index’s recent history in Singapore:

PeriodHDB Resale Price IndexChange
Q3 2023178.4+1.2%
Q2 2023176.2+1.5%
Q1 2023173.6+1%
Q4 2022171.9+2.3%
Q3 2022168.1+2.6%
Q2 2022163.9+2.8%
Q1 2022159.5+2.4%
Q4 2021155.7+3.4%
Q3 2021150.6+2.9%
Q2 2021146.4+3%
Q1 2021142.2+3%
Q4 2020138.1+3.1%
Q3 2020133.9+1.5%
Q2 2020131.9+0.3%
Q1 2020131.5+0%

Click on the above quarters to jump down the article to read the respective quarterly reports.

Aerial view of HDB public housing blocks in Singapore
This marks the 14th consecutive quarter of price increase, flash estimates from HDB showed on Monday. ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG

HDB Resale Price Q3 2023

Prices of Housing Board resale flats inched up in the third quarter of 2023, rising by 1.2 per cent, but at a slower pace than the 1.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

This marks the 14th consecutive quarter of price increase since the second quarter of 2020, flash estimates from HDB showed on Monday. HDB noted that the price growth in the third quarter of 2023 was lower than the average quarterly growth of 2.5 per cent in 2022.

Property analysts said the resale market is showing signs of stabilising following several rounds of property cooling measures, but prices remain resilient owing to stable demand from home seekers.

Q3 2023 Slower price growth

Ms Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice-president of research and analytics, said the slower price growth indicates that price resistance from buyers could have set in, amid concerns over inflation and affordability.

She added that “affordability has been hit by rate hikes as interest rates have stayed higher (for) longer than anticipated”.

She said the overall price growth was driven mainly by four-room flats.

Citing HDB data, Ms Sun said the average prices of such flats increased the most across all flat types, rising by 1.8 per cent from $579,740 in the second quarter to $590,454 in the third quarter.

This was followed by executive flats, which grew 1.3 per cent from an average of $827,549 in the second quarter to $838,120 in the third quarter.

Buyers paying more for mature estates

Buyers are willing to pay more for a flat without resale restrictions in mature estates, and this could also have led to the quarterly increase, said Huttons Asia’s senior director of data analytics Lee Sze Teck.

Under the reclassification of HDB flats that will kick in from the second half of 2024, Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in choicer locations will fall under the Prime and Plus categories, which come with stricter resale conditions.

HDB Prime, Plus Flats: 10 Year MOP

These include a 10-year minimum occupation period before the flats can be sold, and a subsidy clawback under which flat owners return subsidies to HDB upon selling their flats.

PropertyGuru Singapore’s country manager Tan Tee Khoon said an estimated 128 flats changed hands for at least $1 million in the third quarter of 2023, up from the 105 million-dollar deals in the previous quarter.

There were an estimated 336 million-dollar flat transactions from January to September, compared with 369 for the whole of 2022, he added.

“Should the pace of million-dollar flat transactions continue, we are looking at another record-breaking year,” he said.

More HDB resale flats were sold in the third quarter of 2023, with the number rising by 2.9 per cent to an estimated 6,592 units, from 6,409 units in the second quarter.

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HDB Resale price index for Quarter 3 of 2023

HDB Resale Volume lower

Based on HDB’s flash data, resale volume was 9.7 per cent lower compared with the same period in 2022, when 7,298 units changed hands. It is also the lowest volume lodged in the third quarter compared with the same period from 2020 to 2022.

Ms Sun said more buyers opted for resale flats due to the August BTO sales launch being delayed to early October.

But more resale flats could come onto the market in the next few months, said Huttons’ Mr Lee. This is because more private homes are set to be completed, so HDB upgraders who are moving to their new homes will need to sell their existing flats.

“The increase in both BTO and resale flat supply may moderate prices in HDB resale flats to around 5 per cent in 2023,” he added.

HDB said it will launch about 6,800 BTO flats in Choa Chu Kang, Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown and Tengah in early October.

Another 6,000 flats in towns such as Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Woodlands, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah and Queenstown will be launched in December – the final sales exercise of 2023.

HDB remains on track to launch 23,000 flats in 2023, and a total of 100,000 flats from 2021 to 2025.

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HDB Resale Price Q2 2023

Prices of Housing Board flats picked up in the second quarter of 2023, rising by 1.4 per cent, a faster pace than the 1 per cent in the first quarter, flash estimates from HDB showed on Monday.

This marks the 13th consecutive quarter of price increase since the second quarter of 2020 when prices started to climb after Singapore exited a two-month-long circuit breaker period during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Increase is lower than average quarterly growth in 2022

Still, HDB resale prices are showing signs of moderation since property cooling measures were implemented in December 2021. The 1.4 per cent increase is lower than the average quarterly growth of 2.5 per cent in 2022.

Fewer units also changed hands in the second quarter of 2023, with resale volume estimated to be 6,409 units.

This is 4.6 per cent lower than the 6,720 units resold in the same period in 2022 and marks the lowest resale volume in the last three years since the third quarter of 2022, data showed.

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Property market showing signs of moderation

National Development Minister Desmond Lee, in a Facebook post on Monday, said the continued signs of moderation in both the private and HDB resale market are evident in the flash estimates, with growth slowing on the public housing front.

The authorities have implemented three rounds of measures to cool the property market and moderate demand since December 2021.

Property cooling measures implemented since end of 2021

Measures include imposing a 15-month wait-out period on private property owners who wish to buy an HDB resale flat and lowering the loan-to-value limit for HDB housing loans in two rounds – from 90 per cent to 85 per cent and a further lowering to 80 per cent – to ensure prudent borrowing in a time of rising interest rates.

“With these measures in place, we are seeing some moderation in the rate of increase in resale prices,” said HDB.

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HDB Resale Price Increase

Q2 2023 Price growth driven by five-room flats

Ms Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice-president of research and analytics, said the price growth in the second quarter was driven mainly by five-room flats.

Median prices of these flats rose by 1.9 per cent from $638,000 in the first quarter to $650,000 in the second quarter, she said.

A total of 103 HDB resale flats were sold for at least $1 million in the second quarter, on a par with the 103 units in the first three months of the year, noted Ms Sun.

Notably, a 176 sq m adjoined flat at Moh Guan Terrace in Tiong Bahru changed hands for a record $1.5 million in June, despite having around 48 years left on its 99-year lease.

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erial skyline view of Hanoi cityscape at dawn with low clouds. Linh Dam peninsula, Hoang Mai district.

More BTO flats will be launched later in 2023

On the housing supply front, a total of 13,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be launched in the second half of 2023, about 31 per cent more than the 9,923 units launched in the first half of the year, said HDB.

These numbers may be reviewed as more project details are firmed up closer to the launch dates, said the board. BTO flats are typically launched in February, May, August and November.

In August, about 6,700 BTO flats in towns such as Choa Chu Kang, Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown and Tengah will be offered.

Another 6,300 flats in towns such as Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Queenstown and Woodlands will be launched in November.

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Stricter rules starting August HDB BTO sales exercise

Starting with the August sales exercise, stricter rules to reduce the drop-out rate will be imposed on first-timer BTO applicants. Those who do not select a BTO flat when invited to do so will lose their first-timer priority status and be considered second-timers in subsequent flat applications for a year.

Mr Lee said the authorities have continued to increase housing supply to meet the demand. “We will continue to keep a close watch on the property market, and adjust our policies as necessary,” he wrote in his Facebook post.

Supply of BTO flats has been ramped up by 35 per cent in recent years – from 17,100 flats in 2021, to 23,200 flats in 2022, and 23,000 flats in 2023.

HDB remains on track to launch a total of 100,000 flats from 2021 to 2025.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times on 2 Oct 23.