Hdb Resale Prices Rises 26 4Q2024 97 Across Year
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has reported a quarterly growth of 2.6% in the resale prices of HDB flats in 4Q2024. This marks the 19th consecutive quarter of price growth in the resale market, according to HDB’s quarterly report released on Jan 24. The overall increase in resale prices for the whole of 2024 stands at 9.7%.
Comparatively, the growth in resale prices in 2024 nearly doubles the 4.9% year-on-year increase registered in 2023. However, the rise in resale prices in the last quarter was slightly moderated in comparison to the 2.7% quarter-on-quarter increase in 3Q2024. According to Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI, the robust growth in resale prices throughout 2024 can largely be attributed to the limited supply of flats that reached their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) during the year.
“This tight supply created some upward pressure on resale prices, particularly as buyers showed strong interest in newer flats and larger flat types, such as five-room and executive units, which cater to growing family needs,” he notes.
Among the various flat types in the HDB resale market, five-room flats recorded the highest resale price growth in 4Q2024, according to Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia. The average resale price of five-room flats jumped 2.2% q-o-q to $754,097. Similarly, resale prices of four-room flats increased 2.2 q-o-q to $652,544 in 4Q2024.
The Central Area, which includes prime locations like Orchard Road, saw the highest increase in prices at 25.6% q-o-q, according to Christine Sun, chief researcher & strategist at OrangeTee Group. Other notable areas with high price growth in the last quarter include Toa Payoh (12.1%), Tampines (6.9%), Bishan (6.7%) and Bedok (6.1%).
A total of 285 HDB resale flats were sold for $1 million or more in the last three months of 2024. This brings the total number of million-dollar HDB resale transactions to 1,035 for the whole of 2024. More than 90% of these transactions occurred in mature estates, with the Kallang/Whampoa estate seeing the highest number of million-dollar flats change hands at 156 units, followed by Toa Payoh at 144 units and Bukit Merah at 135 units.
Resale transactions in the HDB market fell 21.1% q-o-q, from 8,142 units sold in 3Q2024 to 6,424 units sold in 4Q2024. According to Lee, this drop in transaction volume can be attributed to seasonal factors such as the year-end holiday and festive season. Additionally, the lower interest rate environment may have encouraged some buyers to move to the private residential market or the Executive Condominium (EC) market. Furthermore, some prospective buyers might have opted to ballot for a flat in the latest Build-to-Order (BTO) sales exercise, which took place last October, according to Sandrasegeran.
“Nevertheless, the overall resale transaction volume for 2024 increased by 8.4% year-on-year, from 26,735 units sold in 2023 to 28,986 units sold in 2024. This marks the largest number of yearly resale transactions since 2021 when 31,017 flats were sold,” adds Lee. According to transaction data compiled by Huttons Asia, Sengkang, Woodlands, Punggol, Tampines and Yishun were the top five most popular HDB towns among buyers in 2024. Resale transactions across these estates accounted for around 35.9% of all HDB resales in 2024.
Looking ahead, approximately 6,976 flats are expected to reach the end of their MOP this year. This represents a 41.6% decrease in new housing supply entering the secondary public housing market compared to the 11,952 flats in 2024. This is a result of the relatively fewer BTO flats completed in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, HDB has plans to launch over 25,000 new flats across three BTO sales exercises in 2025. This will comprise 19,600 BTO flats and more than 5,500 flats under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise.
According to Sandrasegeran, this substantial ramp-up in public housing supply aims to address the growing demand for housing. “SBF flats are particularly appealing to home seekers who value the option of acquiring a brand-new, ready-to-move-in flat with a shorter waiting time compared to the typical BTO process,” he says. 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.
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Sandrasegeran forecasts resale prices in the HDB market for 2025 could increase by 3.5% to 5.5%, with resale transaction volume ranging between 26,000 and 27,000. However, Lee has a more optimistic outlook, projecting a price increase of between 5% to 8% for the year.