Chitchat Great News! Multiple Million$$$ Resale HDBs Despite Cooling Measures!

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5 HDB resale flats in non-mature estates sold in Nov for at least S$1m: SRX​

Ooi Boon Keong/TODAY
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• Data from property portal SRX showed that the number of HDB resale flats sold in November went up, after a dip in October
• Five flats in non-mature estates were sold for at least S$1 million, the highest in a month for such sales in non-mature estates
• Property analysts said the recent property cooling measures need time to take effect
• Most analysts expect to see more million-dollar deals in non-mature estates

BY

NAVENE ELANGOVAN​

Published December 8, 2022
Updated December 8, 2022
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SINGAPORE — Business has resumed after a one-month blip for Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flat transactions, with the volume of such transactions going up last month after a dip in October. Five flats in non-mature estates were sold for at least S$1 million — the highest number in a month for non-mature estates so far.

WHAT DATA SHOWS​

The increase in resale volume came a month after sales declined on the heels of property cooling measures imposed by the Government on Sept 30 this year.

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Based on data from property portal SRX:

• 2,140 resale flats were sold in November, up from 1,965 in October
• Between July and September this year, before cooling measures took effect, the number of resale flats sold a month was more than 2,000
• In November, most of the resale flats sold were four-room flats
• The majority were located in non-mature estates such as Punggol, Woodlands and Yishun
• Five resale flats in non-mature estates were sold for at least S$1 million in November
• Three were in Woodlands and two were in Hougang
• One flat was an executive maisonette and the others were executive apartments between the sizes of 1,518 sqf and 2,067 sqf
• The most expensive one was a 2,034-sqf flat at Block 834 Woodlands Street 83 that sold for S$1.1 million

HDB resale flat prices also rose by 0.6 per cent last month compared to October. Prices of executive flats rose by 2.5 per cent, the highest rise among all flat types.
Executive flats or apartments, which were built by HDB in the 1980s to early 2000s, are among the largest flats for public housing. They tend to be larger than five-room flats and feature extra space for a study.

ARE PROPERTY COOLING MEASURES NOT WORKING?​

READ ALSO​

Property cooling measures: 15-month wait-out for private home owners to keep HDB resale flats affordable, says Desmond Lee​

Property analysts said that the higher number of resale transactions and slight increase in prices compared to October did not mean that property cooling measures were not strong enough. They just need time to take effect.
Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at property firm OrangeTee and Tie, said that some of the sales could have been finalised before the cooling measures kicked in on Sept 30.

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This means that the November sale figures did not fully reflect the impact of the cooling measures.
However, Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, was of the view that HDB resale flat prices are not likely to fall in the coming months.
The limited stock of resale flats and stable demand will keep prices steady, she added.
Ms Sun said that the larger volume of sales could be due to buyers bringing forward their purchases before they go on their year-end holiday.

READ ALSO​

HDB resale volume dips in October following property cooling measures; first drop in 8 months​

Mr Mark Yip, chief executive officer of property firm Huttons Asia, said that many HDB flat owners who were selling may have lowered their asking prices after the cooling measures, because they expected reduced demand from buyers. The lower prices could have resulted in more flats being sold in November.

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WHY MORE FLATS IN NON-MATURE ESTATES SOLD FOR S$1 MILLION​

Analysts gave several reasons as to why buyers were willing to folk out S$1 million or more for flats in non-mature estates:

• The layouts of the flats sold were spacious
• The flats were within walking distance from MRT stations and near amenities
• They were cheaper than similar-sized flats located in mature estates

READ ALSO​

HDB flat first in Yishun to sell for more than S$1m, but analysts say such sales there won’t be common​

WILL THERE BE MORE MILLION-DOLLAR FLATS IN NON-MATURE ESTATES?​

Most analysts believe there will be more of such sales because:

• Similar-sized flats in mature estates are getting pricier
• The expansion in the MRT train network means that non-mature estates are more appealing to buyers who are willing to fork out S$1 million for a flat
• There is a greater supply of larger flats in non-mature estates compared to mature estates

However, one analyst, Mr Pow Ying Khuan, head of research at property portal 99 Group, said that the number of million-dollar resale flat transactions in non-mature estates will not jump in the coming months. This is because:

• The buyer pool for such flats will shrink due to the property cooling measures
• Interest rates are rising, affecting property loans
• There is economic uncertainty holding back flat purchases