What boosted private resale transactions in 2021?

The private resale volume hit 19,962 in 2021, the highest in 14 years.

Private resale transactions, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), hit its highest record since 2007, reaching 19,962 in 2021, data from URA showed.

The 2021 record also outpaced resale transactions in 2020 by 86.1%.

Ohmyhome said the upswing in the private resale volume can be attributed to two groups of demand drivers:

1. Buyers who have turned to purchase units from completed resale developments as a result of the uncertainties in the construction market.
2. Buyers who choose to transition from HDB flats to private resale properties.

Citing URA Realis, Ohmyhome said there has been “growing interest from buyers with an HDB address acquiring private resale properties since 2019.”

OrangTee echoed this, saying “more flats will be put on the market for resale and more families may upgrade to private homes.”

Data from Ohmyhome said the number of units purchased by buyers with an HDB address rose from 2,772 units in 2019 to 6,572 units in 2021.

In the next one to two quarters, Huttons said transaction volumes will likely ease and recover subsequently given the new cooling measures imposed by the government.

This was echoed by PropertyGuru, saying the private secondary market is “expected to take a harder hit by the new cooling measures than new private launches based on past transactional data following the previous wave of implementation in 2018.”

“For example, in the 12 months following July 2018, the private secondary market transaction volumes dipped 57%, while new private launches only fell 3% over the same period,” PropertyGuru said.

Knight Frank said around 16,000 to 19,000 units might be sold in the resale market.

In terms of prices, OrangeTee believes it will flatline the first half of 2022, and pick up on the second half “when the supply of new homes starts depleting.”

The overall price index for private residential properties rose 5% QoQ in Q421 and 10.6% in 2021.

In 2022, OrangeTee said private home prices will likely grow by 3%, while Knight Franck put its estimate at 1% to 3%, taking into account the cooling measures and interest rate hikes.