HDB resale volume rose 18% to 2,213 in October

About 2,320 flats will become eligible for resale in the next three months.

The volume of HDB flat resale expanded 18% MoM to 2,213 units in October, according to the SRX Property Price Index. On a YoY basis, volume rose 10.6%. OrangeTee & Tie noted this to be the highest October sales recorded in four years.

Almost half or 40.8% of the volume came from 4-room flats, followed by 25.4% from 3-room, 24.3% from 5-room and 7.5% from executive. The remaining share came from 2-room and multi-gen flats.

Also read: HDB resale prices down 0.2% in September

According to OrangeTee, the rise in demand to likely came from the introduction of policies, including the enhancement of grants for first-time buyers and raising the income ceiling for families buying resale flats with a CPF Housing Grant on the open market.

“Some policies that were rolled out in the second quarter of this year may now be taking effect, as it takes time for buyers to be aware of the new policies and assess their eligibility in using the new schemes,” OrangeTee wrote.

A growth in the supply of flats reaching the 5-year minimum occupation period (MOP) also likely added to the volume. About 2,320 flats will reach MOP in the next three months, when they will become eligible to join the HDB resale market.

The prices for HDB flat resale dipped 0.2% MoM in October. On a YoY basis, prices inched up 0.1% for the month. The prices are still 14.3% than the April 2013 peak.

Prices for 4-room and 5-room flats depreciated 0.9% and 0.6% respectively, whilst 3-room and executive prices climbed 0.5% and 1.1% respectively.

Mature estates prices grew 0.2% MoM whilst non-mature estates prices fell 0.5%. Conversely, prices for non-mature estates rose 1.1% YoY whilst those of mature estates dropped 1.3%.

The priciest resale for the month hit $1,1m for a high-floor 5-room unit at The Pinnacle @ Duxton. In non-mature estates, the highest transacted price came from an Executive Maisonette unit at Hougang at $850,000.

Overall median transaction over x-value (TOX) rose $2,000 MoM to zero in the same month. 5-room and executive flats posted a positive $2,000 and $6,000 median TOX respectively, whilst both 3-room and 4-room flats recorded negative median TOX of $1,000.