HDB resale prices dip 0.3% in July, volume up 28%: SRX flash data

HDB resale prices dip 0.3% in July, volume up 28%: SRX flash data

Fri, Aug 03, 2018


RESALE prices of Housing Board (HDB) flats fell 0.3 per cent in July from the month before, according to flash data released by real estate portal SRX Property on Thursday morning.

The data also showed that prices decreased 1.6 per cent from the same month last year, and by 13.6 per cent since the peak in April 2013.

In July 2018, the prices in mature estates were down by one per cent, while those in non-mature estates went up by 0.3 per cent.

According to HDB resale data compiled by SRX Property, a total of 2,548 HDB resale flats were sold last month, a 28 per cent increase from 1,990 transacted units in June.

Year-on-year, resale volume increased by 42.7 per cent compared to 1,785 units resold in July 2017. Resale volume, meanwhile, was down by 30.2 per cent compared to its peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.

The median Transaction Over X-Value (TOX) was zero in July 2018. It was negative S$1,000 in June.

TOX measures how much a buyer is overpaying or underpaying on a property, based on SRX Property's computer-generated market value.

For HDB towns having more than 10 resale transactions with T-O-X in July 2018, Pasir Ris and Ang Mo Kio reported the highest positive median TOX of S$16,000 and S$9,000 respectively.

This means that the majority of the buyers in these towns purchased units above the computer-generated market value.

Among relatively active towns, Clementi and Kallang/Whampoa had the most negative median TOX at S$16,000 and S$10,000 respectively.

This suggests that the majority of the buyers in these towns bought units below the computer-generated market value.

Commenting on the data, Christine Sun, the head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, said the strong resale volume was "not unexpected" as there were more flats being completed and being put up for resale after they reached the five-year minimum occupation period.

Based on data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the average annual completions was around 14,600 units from 2010-2013 and eligible for resale since 2015.

"The volume of resales has been rising since 2015 in tandem with the increased supply of completed homes, suggesting that demand could be supply-led in recent years," said Ms Sun.

Nicholas Mak, the executive director of ZACD Group, said that although the government's latest cooling measures on July 5 were aimed at the private residential property market, there could be spillover effects into the HDB resale market.

"The cooling measures are likely to weaken the demand from HDB upgraders. Some HDB owners may be reluctant or unable to upgrade to a private residential property due to an increased hurdle to purchasing a private residential property," he said

"As a result, this creates an overall downward pressure on the HDB resale price index. For the whole of 2018, the HDB resale price index is projected to contract by one per cent to 3 per cent year-on-year."