HDB resale prices up 3.1% in September

Young couples are driving the demand for resale units.

HDB resale prices continues to rise for the third consecutive month in September as all room types showed an increase in prices, according to the latest data from SRX.

Overall resale prices jumped 3.1% in the previous month compared to September 2019. It also maintained a total sales volume of over 2,400 units, with 2,489 HDB resale transaction recorded during the month, or 32.7% higher than the previous year.

This indicates that the overall demand for HDB resale market is generally healthy this year despite the 2-month circuit breaker period, economic slowdown and COVID-19, said Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy, OrangeTee & Tie.

Sun noted that on-ground agents observed the high number of young couples looking for homes, which helped drum up resale volumes.

“Based on ground observation, there are currently many young couples buying HDB resale flats. These buyers have immediate housing needs and are not able to wait for the longer completion period for the newly launched BTO projects, where some are slated to be completed only after four to five years later,” Sun said.

Compared to August, HDB resale prices edged up 0.8% in September, whilst sales volumes rose 2.2%.

Prices for all room types are higher than in September 2019, with 3-room unit prices edging up 2.5%, 4-room units rising by 2.7%, 5-room units climbing 2.2%, and executive units recording a 2.5% increase.

Prices are also all higher than in August, with 3-room, 4-room, 5-room, and executive unit prices up by 0.7%, 0.5%, 0.8%, and 0.5%, respectively.

Breaking down by room types, 42.3% of the volume comes from HDB 4-rooms, 25.9% from 5-rooms, 22.2% from 3-rooms, and 7.9% from executive units.

PropNex Realty's head of research and content Siew Ying Wong noted that prices should continue to find support in the coming months given strong demand.

"Feedback from our real estate agents suggest that there is stiff competition for HDB resale units in the market, pricing should continue to find support in the months ahead. We believe the HDB resale market has turned a corner and remain upbeat about its outlook this year, in spite of the pandemic-led economic downturn," Wong said.