Second-hand homes become a hit

More buyers are turning to resale homes as prices of new homes are still high. The number of resales as a percentage of all private home sales (including ECs) have been increasing steadily from 46% in February to 60% in May, the highest level seen this year. Conversely, the number of new sales hit a low this year at 31% in May.

Subsales activity on the other hand remained subdued in May (9%) as a result of the higher Seller’s Stamp Duty imposed recently. We believe subsale activity will remain muted in the coming months.

Prices of non-landed resale homes hit a new high in May at an average unit price of S$1,096 per sq ft. This is a 4% month-on-month and a 16% year-on-year increase. Mass market resale home prices increased the most by 5% quarter on quarter to S$815 per sq ft in Q2, followed by mid-tier homes, which rose 4% quarter on quarter to S$1,069 per sq ft. Resale prices of high-end homes held steady at S$1,612 per sq ft, rising by a mere 1% quarter-on-quarter.