HDB resale prices went up 4.9% in 2023

SINGAPORE — Resale prices for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats rose by 4.9 per cent in 2023, a marked slowdown compared to a 10.4 per cent increase in 2022.

Public housing data released on Friday (26 January) showed a continuing trend of slowing growth in HDB's Resale Price Index (RPI). The RPI recorded 180.4 in the fourth quarter of 2023, ending the year with a modest quarterly increase of 1.1 per cent. This was lower than the 1.3 per cent growth observed in the third quarter of 2023, and the 2.5 per cent quarterly average in 2022.

HDB said the moderate increase in resale prices has continued following the government’s implementation of a strong pipeline of housing supply, as well as cooling measures to promote a stable and sustainable property market.

"More broadly, as global economic activities are expected to ease further in 2024, and domestic mortgage interest rates remain elevated, households should continue to exercise financial prudence in their flat purchases," the board said.

Fewer resale transactions

Meanwhile, resale transactions for the fourth quarter of 2023 fell by 2.2 per cent, from 6,695 cases in the previous quarter to 6,547 cases.

The number of transactions represents a 0.8 per cent decrease from the same period in 2022. HDB also noted that it was the lowest fourth quarter volume since 2020. Overall, the total resale volume of HDB flats declined by 4.2 per cent in 2023, from 27,896 cases in the previous year to 26,735 cases.

Across the island, the median resale price for a three-room HDB flat sold in the fourth quarter of 2023 ranged between S$345,000 to S$481,500. For four-room flats, the highest median resale price for the quarter was in Queenstown, at S$928,000, while the lowest median resale price was in Jurong East at S$497,500.

The Bukit Merah township recorded the highest price in the five-room flat category with a median resale price of S$959,000. The lowest median resale price recorded for the same category was in Jurong West at S$588,000.

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Small dip in HDB rent applications

HDB also reported that the number of approved applications to rent out HDB flats in the fourth quarter of 2023 fell slightly by 0.7 per cent, from 9,852 in the preceding quarter to 9,787.

Compared to the same quarter one year ago, the number of approved applications was 15.5 per cent higher. The total approved applications to rent out HDB flats went up by 8.2 per cent in 2023, from 36,166 cases to 39,138 cases.

Overall, there were 58,159 HDB flats rented out at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, which is a slight increase of 0.6 per cent over the 57,797 units rented out in the previous quarter.

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