For the first time since 2003, buyers with HDB addresses accounted for the bulk of demand (53 percent) in the new private homes market last year, according to a DTZ report.
“In the primary market, the number of private homes bought by HDB addressees rose 34 percent in 2012 to 9,380 units while the number of private homes purchased by private addressees rose a smaller four percent to 8,239 units.”
On the other hand, the resale market saw purchases by flat owners slip by two percent to 5,224 units, compared to those with private addresses which dropped nine percent to 10,331 units.
“The stronger demand from purchasers with HDB addresses could be due to rising HDB resale prices which make private housing more affordable for HDB upgraders. Some of these buyers with HDB addresses could also have kept their HDB flat for rental, which would help to support the mortgage payments for the private home in the current low interest rate environment,” the report noted.
Aside from that, buyers with HDB addresses may also be singles living with their parents or parents buying for their children. DTZ added that many of these buyers bought shoebox units resulting in a new record of 1,675 such homes last year.
Overall, 2012 saw robust buying activity in the property market, with private home sales up 5.9 percent to 33,174 units.
The increase was concentrated in the primary market which recorded a 20.7 percent year-on-year gain to 17,619 units. As for the secondary market, there was a seven percent decline year-on-year.
“The stronger buying activity in the primary market could be due to developers offering incentives and discounts to buyers to offset the ABSD (additional buyer’s stamp duty) which was implemented in December 2011. There was also a record high number of launches (21,478 units) in the year which provided more choices for buyers.”
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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