22,077 HDB flats were resold in 2017

The flats' price index value dipped 1.5%.

The Resale Price Index (RPI) of HDB flats fell by 1.5% YoY in 2017, whilst it dipped by 0.2% QoQ from 132.8 to 132.6 in Q4.

According to HDB data, resale transactions fell by 1.2% QoQ from 5,808 cases to 5,738 cases. On a yearly basis, resale transactions in Q4 grew by 14.5%.

For the full year of 2017, resale transactions increased by 6.1%, from 20,813 cases in 2016 to 22,077 cases.

Edmund Tie & Company (ET&Co) head of research Lee Nai Jia commented, "From the ground, homes with leases of less than 60 years took longer to sell, and at a much lower price."

Meanwhile, the number of approved applications to rent out HDB flats rose 5.6% YoY and 5.4% QoQ from 10,698 cases in Q3 to 11,279 cases in Q4.

There were 53,750 HDB flats rented out, an increase of 0.6% over Q3's 53,445 units.

In 2018, HDB will launch about 17,000 new flats for sale. For the first Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise to be launched in February 2018, HDB will offer about 3,600 flats in Choa Chu Kang, Geylang, Tampines and Woodlands.

Lee added, "We anticipate the market to improve, especially in areas where former HUDC developments were sold en bloc. Some of these buyers downsized to an HDB flat and kept the proceeds for retirement, or to support their children in purchasing a private home."