HDB resale volume surges 75%, prices rise 0.3% in March: SRX data

Consultants attribute this to shorter month of Feb, and festivities in Jan and Feb

Friday, April 7, 2017

by Lee Meixian
[email protected]
@LeeMeixianBT


RESALE prices of Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats rose 0.3 per cent in March compared to February 2017, while resale volume surged.

According to data compiled by SRX Property, 1,910 HDB resale flats were sold last month, a 75.4 per cent increase from 1,089 transacted units in February.

Property consultants attributed this to the shorter month of February and quieter first two months of the year where festivities discouraged the closing of transactions.

Another possible driver of transaction volume in March was the additional CPF housing grants for first-time buyers of resale flats announced by the government in its February Budget, which helped to improve buying sentiment, they said.

Taken together, resale prices fell 0.6 per cent in the first three months of 2017, coinciding with flash estimates from HDB released on Monday which showed a similar price drop in the first quarter of 2017 from the previous quarter.

SRX Property data also showed that year on year, prices decreased by 0.1 per cent from March 2016, while resale volume increased by 14.1 per cent compared to 1,674 units resold in March 2016.

Compared to their respective peaks, resale prices in March declined by 11.2 per cent since the peak in April 2013, while volume was down by 47.7 per cent compared to its peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.

The price increase in March was driven by higher resale prices in both mature and non-mature estates, which rose 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.

The resale prices of HDB four-room, five-room and HDB executive flats also all rose - by 0.3 per cent, 0.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively - while HDB three-room resale flat prices decreased by 0.7 per cent.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that for his own agency's resale transactions, the number of deals closed indeed also rose by about 72 per cent in volume for March over February.

This was slightly lower than what SRX reported (which is for the whole market), because ERA's base for February was already high, and also because some manpower resources and attention were diverted to new private housing launches and previews in the "busy month" of March, he said.

Projects that ERA was involved in marketing in March included Grandeur Park Residences in Tanah Merah, The Clement Canopy in Clementi, Park Place Residences in Paya Lebar, and Inz Residence executive condominium in Choa Chu Kang.

Ong Kah Seng, director of R'ST Research, noted that although resale activity surged in March, the increase in prices was marginal at 0.3 per cent.

"This reflects that buyers of resale flats are still opportunity-driven and realistic. They generally buy according to what they deem to be reasonable pricing, a value buy. They are overall cautious in offering high prices," he said.

He believes that HDB resale flat prices are still in the process of stabilising and will probably continue to consolidate in the coming months.