HDB resale flat prices fell 0.5 percent in Q1 2017.
Resale flat prices in Singapore fell 0.5 percent in Q1 2017 from the previous quarter, according to more detailed statistics released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) this morning.
The resale price index, which tracks the overall price movement of the public residential market, dropped to 133.9 from 134.6 in Q4 2016.
In the same period, resale flat transactions fell 9.6 percent to 4,530 cases.
Calling it a “marginal” price drop, Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty, noted that the first quarter of the year usually sees fewer activities in the market, with a lower number of transactions due to the Chinese New Year holidays and February being a shorter month.
“We are confident that HDB resale transactions in 2017 will likely hit the 22,000 mark due to the current stable environment in terms of pricing and the non-existence of COV (Cash Over Valuation) for more than 80 percent of transactions in the resale market,” said Ismail.
He added: “2017 will witness a positive growth in the second half of the year with an overall stable price movement of about -1 to +1 percent.”
On a quarterly basis, the number of applications approved for subletting of HDB flats dropped 6.5 percent to 9,981 cases in Q1. As at 31 March, there were 53,360 HDB flats being sublet, an increase of 0.8 percent from Q4 last year.
Meanwhile, the HDB said it will launch about 4,600 Build-To-Order flats and around 3,000 balance flats for sale in May.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
