Cooling measures and increased housing supply curb resale price growth in Singapore.
Housing Development Board (HDB) resale flat prices in Singapore continued their upward trend for the 14th consecutive quarter, increasing by 1.3% in Q3 2023. This marks a deceleration compared to the 2.5% average quarterly growth in 2022, reflecting the effects of government cooling measures and a strong pipeline of housing supply.
Factors Influencing Price Trends
Key measures contributing to the slower growth include:
A 15-month wait-out period introduced in September 2022 for private property owners purchasing resale flats.
Reduced loan-to-value limits for HDB loans, decreased from 90% to 80% between 2021 and 2022.
Experts like Christine Sun of OrangeTee & Tie highlighted that quarterly price growth remained below 2% throughout 2023, compared to over 2.9% in 2021. These trends suggest that interventions have successfully stabilized the resale market.
Demand Dynamics and Median Prices
In Q3 2023, 6,695 flats were sold, up 2.8% from the previous quarter but down 11.3% from Q3 2022. Demand remained strong for four-room flats, driven partly by seniors exempt from the wait-out period.
Five-room flats in Bishan recorded the highest median price at $929,000, a notable increase from $880,000 in Q2. Other high-demand areas included Queenstown and Bukit Merah, with median prices for larger flats hovering around $928,000.
Million-dollar transactions also broke records, with 128 flats crossing the $1 million mark in Q3, contributing to a total of 371 such transactions in 2023, surpassing 2022’s record of 369.
Future Outlook
HDB remains committed to addressing housing needs, launching 16,700 flats so far in 2023, with plans to release up to 23,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) units by year-end. A December rollout will include 6,000 flats across various towns like Bedok, Bishan, and Queenstown.
The upcoming reclassification of flats into Standard, Plus, and Prime categories in 2024 is expected to influence future resale dynamics, particularly with stricter resale conditions for flats in prime locations.
