Prices of Housing Board resale flats edged up 0.5 per cent in October, and more units were sold as the market picked up following a dip the previous month.
HDB resale flat prices grew at a quicker pace in October, following a 0.6 per cent decline in September, based on flash data from real estate portals 99.co and SRX on Thursday. Prices were up 5.3 per cent year on year.
The number of resale flats sold rebounded in October, rising by 10.8 per cent to an estimated 2,200 units, in contrast with the 19.7 per cent decline in the month before.
Compared with October 2022, transactions were up by 12 per cent.
Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip said that according to their agents, more buyers were looking for flats in the central region as they do not come with significant resale restrictions, and this could have propped up prices.
“They are also willing to pay slightly more for these flats,” he added.
Under the reclassification of HDB flats that will kick in from the second half of 2024, Build-To-Order flats in choicer locations will fall under the Prime and Plus categories, which come with stricter resale conditions such as a 10-year minimum occupation period.
The stronger sales in October could also be attributed to more HDB upgraders selling their flats as they collect the keys to their new private homes, said PropNex Realty head of research and content Wong Siew Ying.
About 9,000 private homes and executive condominiums were completed in the third quarter of 2023, the highest quarterly supply since 2016, said Ms Wong, citing data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
The Straits Times
