October 2023 HDB Resale Flat Prices Rebounded 0.5 Percent

October 2023 HDB resale flat prices edged up 0.5%, rebounding from a 0.6% dip in September. Year-on-year, prices were up 5.3%.

The number of resale flats sold in October also rebounded, rising 0.8% with an estimated 2,200 units transacted. This is in contrast with the 19.7% decline the month before.

Compared with October 2022, transactions were up by 12%.

October 2023 HDB Resale Flat Prices - A Snapshot

The following is a snapshot of key factors driving the market in October:

• The stronger sales in October could also be attributed to more HDB upgraders selling their flats after collecting the keys to their new private homes, or flat owners upgrading to a private property. These sellers of HDB flats would need to dispose of their units within six months after completing the purchase of their private property to secure a remission of the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD).
• About 9,000 private homes and executive condominiums (ECs) were completed in the third quarter of 2023, the highest quarterly number since 2016.
• 41 HDB flats changed hands for at least $1 million in October, taking the total number of million-dollar transactions so far this year to 377 units. This surpassed the record of 369 million-dollar flats transacted in the whole of 2022.
• All the million-dollar flats sold in October took place in mature estates – 7 transactions each in Bukit Merah and Bishan, 6 in Queenstown, and 5 each in Kallang/Whampoa and Clementi.
• The most expensive HDB resale flat was a 5-room, 113 sq m unit between the 19th and 21st storeys at Block 96A Henderson Road. It was sold at $1.45 million.
• More buyers were looking for flats in the central region as they currently do not come with significant resale restrictions, which helped to prop up prices. The focus on the central region can be attributed to the new HDB re-classification of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats that will come into effect in the second half of 2024. Under the new ruling, BTO flats in choicer locations will fall under the Prime and Plus categories, which come with stricter resale conditions such as a 10-year minimum occupation period.
• No million-dollar flats were sold in non-mature estates, the first since such transactions took place in these estates.
• The highest transacted price in a non-mature town was $995,888 for a 140 sq m executive apartment in Jurong East Street 21.
• Prices rose 0.8% in non-mature estates in October 2023, the highest rate in the past 12 months.
• Some flat listings in non-mature estates took a longer time to sell. However, those located near amenities or transport nodes have remained highly sought after, which helps to lift overall prices.
• Across flat types, prices of executive units climbed the most at 1.7%, underpinned by fixed supply as such a flat type is no longer being built. Meanwhile, 5-room flat prices fell by 0.4%.
• The demand for 5-room flats has continued to ease off after the property cooling measures imposed in September 2022 that put a 15-month wait-out period on private property owners wishing to buy an HDB resale flat. However, this wait-out period does not apply to those aged 55 and above moving from their private properties to a 4-room or smaller HDB resale flat. Hence, the demand for 3- and 4-room units has remained resilient, making up almost three-quarters of total transactions in October.