HDB resale transactions were up last quarter, signalling a return of confidence in the market.
Prices of HDB resale flats remained unchanged during the second quarter, after dipping by 0.1 percent in the first three months of 2016, according to more detailed public housing data published by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Friday, 22 July.
According to property agency PropNex Realty, marginal price movements in the past three quarters shows that prices are in a consolidation phase.
Not surprisingly, HDB resale transactions surged by 31.2 percent to 5,838 cases, from 4,449 cases in the previous quarter.
“With prices consolidating, transactions will pick up. Buyers who have remained on the sidelines should have, by now, understood that prices will not fall very much more below this level,” said Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex.
Meanwhile, the number of applications approved for subletting of HDB flats rose by 5.2 percent from 11,239 cases in Q1 to 11,824 cases. As at 30 June, there were 52,171 HDB flats sublet, up 2.2 percent from the 51,052 units in Q1.
In the first half of 2016, the HDB launched 13,110 new flats, comprising 7,940 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and 5,170 balance flats.
Next month, the HDB will release about 4,800 BTO flats for sale in Hougang, Sembawang, Tampines and Yishun.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
