SINGAPORE: Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale prices rose by 1.5% in the first quarter of this year, the slowest increase in five quarters. This was lower than the previous quarter’s 2.6% rise and below the 2.3% average quarterly growth in 2024, according to flash estimates from the HDB.
While the price growth had slowed, netizens online pointed out that it only meant it was “still increasing.” One commenter said, “Slowest growth, still growing lah,” while another noted that a 1.5% increase on a million-dollar flat still means an extra S$15,000—“so comforting,” they said wryly.
According to Channel News Asia, in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Apr 1), National Development Minister Desmond Lee attributed the slower price growth to sustained Build-to-Order (BTO) supply and the largest-ever Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise in February.
HDB added that, at the same time, fewer resale flats were sold in the first quarter, with just 6,392 flats transacted up to Mar 27, a 7.7% drop from the same period last year.
Mr Lee said the lower supply of flats reaching their minimum occupation period (MOP) in recent years has tightened the resale market. This was partly caused by COVID-19 construction delays, which pushed back MOP timelines.
The number of flats reaching MOP will rise from 8,000 this year to 13,500 in 2026, increasing further to 19,500 in 2028. As previously announced, the government is also planning to launch over 50,000 new BTO flats from 2025 to 2027.
Property analysts expect resale prices to rebound in the second quarter.
ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim said the recent drop in transaction volume was expected due to the seasonal lull and competition from BTO and SBF launches, but returning unsuccessful applicants would eventually cause a rebound in the second quarter.
He added that the shrinking supply of MOP flats will keep prices up, especially for newer HDB flats in central and mature estates.
Huttons’ senior director for data analytics, Lee Sze Teck, also expects prices to “pick up pace,” pointing out that Singapore is facing the lowest supply of MOP flats in a decade.
In January, OrangeTee’s HDB Resale Market Outlook for 2025 forecasted moderate price growth of 4% to 6%, down from the projected 7.5% to 8.5% increase last year, as supply drops to an 11-year low. /TISG
Read also: HDB to launch 19,600 BTO flats and 5,500 SBF flats in 2025
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
