Resale flat prices up 1.2% in 3Q2023: HDB flash estimates
in Budget 2021
The Lumina Grand Bukit Batok Executive Condominium has recently been awarded at a land rate of $599 psf ppr, a significantly more affordable rate as compared to the March Bukit Batok West Avenue 8 EC site purchase. Qingjian Realty and Santarli Construction took the lead in submitting the winning bid for the Lumina Grand Bukit Batok site. This noteworthy purchase marks the first EC site to be acquired in 2021.
The upcoming supply of HDB flats in early October and December may have an impact on the slow rising of resale flat prices. In 3Q2023, flash estimates released by HDB show that resale prices edged up 1.2% q-o-q despite rising for 14 consecutive quarters. For the same period in 2021 and 2022, prices were respectively up 9.1% and 8%.
Year-to-date, resale flat prices have increased 3.8%, indicating that price resistance may be setting in due to inflationary and affordability concerns. A total of 6,592 resale flat transactions were also recorded, the lowest in the last three years since 2020.
Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI, attributes the higher number of resale flat transactions to higher grants given to first-time home buyers that were announced in Budget 2023, as well as the delay in the August Build-To-Order (BTO) sales launch.
Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, adds that the higher prices and transactions also follow changes in housing policies announced during the National Day Rally on Aug 20. Under the new system, BTO units will be categorised as either Standard, Plus or Prime flats, all offering subsidies and restrictions.
For the last quarter, an estimated 127 resale flats transacted for at least $1 million, 21% more than the previous quarter. With the incoming supply of BTO flats and ongoing affordability concerns, the future of resale flat prices may be tempered, predicts OrangeTee & Tie’s Christine Sun, with a full-year growth of between 4% to 5.5%.