HDB dwellers accounted for a lower proportion of overall private property transactions in 2010 than in the previous year, according to a DTZ analysis based on data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Many of those who purchased private property also opted to take up small units measuring less than 1,000 sq ft, it said.
“I think it has to do with the higher (property) prices,” said Chua Chor Hoon, Head of Southeast Asia Research at DTZ. “People who upgrade from HDB flats are usually more price-sensitive.”
DTZ said in a report that 35 percent of private residences sold in 2010 were acquired by buyers with HDB addresses, down six percentage points from the 41 percent in 2009.
On the whole, HDB residents seem to have taken a higher interest in private homes of below 1,000 sq ft. The proportion of buyers living in HDB flats who acquired units of less than 1,000 sq ft climbed to 41 percent in 2010, from 32 percent in the previous year.
A total of 35,319 private property transactions were seen last year, up 11 percent from the previous year but still lower than the 2007 record level of 37,799 transactions. Total transactional value reached S$57.9 billion in 2010, also higher than in 2009 but below the 2007 level.
“Following more measures to stabilise the residential market in January 2011, we expect quieter activity in the market in 2011,” said DTZ.
“Sub-sales activity is expected to be lower in 2011, as short-term speculation is affected by the seller’s stamp duty (SSD), which was imposed in August 2010 and raised in January 2011.”
DTZ also noted that non-landed sub-sales accounted for 11 percent of the total number of non-landed transactions last year — the lowest level since 2006.