The prices of Housing Board resale flats climbed 0.9 per cent in April, and more units were sold when the market picked up following an initial dip in the month prior to.
On May 6, flash data from real estate websites Singapore Real Estate Exchange and 99.co showed that HDB prices for resales increased faster in April, compared to March’s 0.3 percent rise.
Prices have increased by 9 percent over the past year.
In April, the amount of resale apartments sold grew by 15.7% to 2,387 units. This is compared with a decline of 3.3% the previous month.
Comparing April 2023 to April 2019, sales volumes of resales were six percent more.
The less frequent Build-To-Order and Sale of Balance Flats activities could have contributed to the rebound in the demand for apartments that were resold which boosted prices.
From 2024 onwards, BTO flats will be available across three sales exercises – in the months of February, June and October in comparison to the four sales per year.
If you did not succeed in the first Sale of Balance Flats in 2024, which was held in February, you may have been able to resell your home rather than staying put until 2025.
These sales, during which the applicants were able to apply for any flats that were left from previous BTO sales, were previously held twice a year.
On the other hand the robust resale market could have resulted in more homeowners putting up their flats for sale.
A few sellers could be enticed by the prospect of making a large profit, while others may want to upgrade to a bigger home.
In April, 68 flats were sold for over $1 million. This is higher than the 61 sales that occurred in March.
The HDB resale apartments that were offered for sale at a price of more than a million dollars in April included 24 four-room apartments with 22 five-room apartments and 22 executive flats.
The majority of these are situated in established estates such as Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah and Kallang/Whampoa. Seven are located in towns that are not as mature, such as Jurong East and Sengkang.
These transactions comprised about 2.8 per cent of total transactions in April.
The most expensive resale apartment was a five-room, 1,259 sqft unit located between the 22nd to 24th floors at The Peak @ ToaPayoh. It was sold for $1.438m.
A 1,539 square ft executive residence located in Toh Guan Road in Jurong East was sold for $1.088 million, making it the highest transaction in a non-mature estate in April.
Sengkang is a town that isn’t yet mature, and made its first million dollar flat transaction in April.
Compassvale Lane, a 1,539 sq ft executive villette, traded hands for $1 million.
It is not anticipated to cause significant changes in the resale price in the Sengkang region.
Million-dollar resale transactions are generally exceptional and not indicative of the general trends in the market.
In April, the Kallang/Whampoa recorded 15 million-dollar transactions in flats, setting a new record for the town.
St George’s Towers, which has recently completed its minimum five-year tenure, was responsible for 11 of the 15 transactions.
Eight out of 11 transactions at St George’s Towers take place on the 19th floor and higher. They are therefore likely to have unobstructed views.
The 34-storey building is located next to the Whampoa River and is about 5 minutes from Boon Keng MRT station.
In the first four months of 2024, there were 253 million dollars flat transactions.
These transactions are expected to possibly exceed the record 469 units sold during the entire of 2023.
It seems that the global economy is experiencing a rebound, which gave prospective homeowners the courage to take the plunge and get their foot in the real estate market.