Stricter homebuying rules to prop up HDB resale market in 2024: experts

Homeowners may also seek HDB resale flats as their property wait-out period fizzles out.

The HDB resale market may see higher demand for its bigger and more expensive flats as the new, stricter rules in buying new homes discourage prospective buyers from getting brand new homes.

Big flats may experience higher demand in the first half of 2024, especially from private homeowners, notes Christine Sun, senior vice president of research & analytics for OrangeTee&Tie. This is because private residential property owners who intend to buy HDB resale flats will have fulfilled their 15-month wait-out period by then.

A wait-out period for buying property was first implemented in September 2022. Sun expects these private homeowners to go for bigger units, like 5-room or even executive flats.

PropNex CEO Ismail Gafoor further expects private homeowners who have served their 15-month wait-out period to buoy sales of million-dollar HDB flats in 2024.

Prospective buyers may also opt for HDB resale flats amidst the upcoming new classification of flats– to Standard, Plus, and Prime categories. The new classification comes with stricter resale and rental rules for Plus and Prime funds as well as a 10-year minimum occupation period.

“Some prospective buyers may not be keen on the tighter rules and could opt to buy resale flats in attractive locations instead – as existing resale flats are not affected by the new classification framework,” Gafoor noted.

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However, Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip does not expect the demand from private property owners to be significant, as a good portion of these owners have successfully appealed or bought smaller resale flats.

“There should not be a significant impact on resale prices,” Yip added.

Overall, for the whole of 2024, HDB resale prices are expected to grow at a modest 3% to 5% in 2024, property experts said.

OrangeTee&Tie’s Sun and Huttons’ Yip both estimate that total HDB resale volumes will be between 25,000 to as much as 28,000 for the year.

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