HDB resale transactions down 7.6% to 1,921 units in August

This was attributed to the slower resale activity during the season.

HDB resale transactions totalled 1,921 in August, a 7.6% YoY decrease and 9.4% MoM lower than July’s sales, according to data from SRX Property. Prices were also 0.6% YoY lower compared to a year earlier.

Also read: HDB resale prices down 0.2% in July

Meanwhile, resale prices inched up by 0.1% during the month compared to July. HDB three-room and four-room prices remained flat whilst 5-room and executive prices fell by 0.1% and 1.5%, respectively. Non-mature estates prices rose by 0.3%, whilst mature estates prices decreased by 0.1% compared to the previous month; on a YoY basis, non-mature estates increased by 0.4% whilst mature estates prices dipped by 2.1%.

Of the total transactions, 42.2% of the came from HDB four-room, 23.7% from five room, 23.4% from three-room and 8.3% from executives.

The highest transacted price for a resale flat was achieved at The Pinnacle @ Duxton, where a five-room unit was sold for $1.2m, and is one of the only eight HDB units to have achieved more than $1,000 psf this year.

Amongst non-mature estates, the highest transacted price was a 22-year-old executive unit at Hougang that sold for $831,500.

Real estate agency Orange Tee & Tie noted that the drop in sales volume falls within expectations and could be largely attributed to a seasonal effect where sales activities are usually slower in August. Furthermore, the sales decline is not as significant as last year, which dipped 18.5% MoM in August 2018, driven by weaker buying sentiment due to property cooling measures.

Also, Orange Tee & Tie added that last month's resale volume is above the 12-month average of 1,830 units from August 2018 to July 2019. “This indicates that demand for resale flats is still resilient. Resale flats remain an attractive housing option for buyers given their price affordability [whilst] demand for older flats may have also increased in light of the recent CPF changes which allow some buyers to use more CPF to purchase these flats,” commented Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at Orange Tee & Tie.

Also read: Older flats defy depreciation concerns as sales hit record high in Q1

Orange Tee & Tie expects resale prices to remain soft amidst stiff competition that is driven by more flats reaching their minimum occupation period (MOP) in the coming months.

Based on SRX data, an estimated 1,511 flats will become eligible to join the HDB resale market in the next three months, as these units approach their respective five-year MOP.