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June 05, 2024
HDB Resale Prices Inched Up In May 2024 As Sales Picked Up
Wong Siew Ying
Head of Research and Content
The public housing resale market remained relatively resilient in May. HDB resale flat prices crept up from April to May 2024, supported by a higher transaction volume during the month. Sales data showed that the average price of resale flat climbed by 1.2% month-on-month to $599,198 in May from $591,937 in the previous month (see Chart 1). When compared with a year ago, the average price was up by 5.1% from $570,281 in May 2023.
Notably, the slight increase in the average resale price came as demand improved. Transaction data showed that the number of resale flats sold rose by 5.7% from 2,377 units in April to 2,513 units in May. On a year-on-year basis, the HDB resale volume was up by 11.9% from May 2023. The resale volume in May is the highest monthly sales since 2,622 resale flats were sold in January 2024.
Non-mature towns accounted for about 59% of the monthly resale volume in May, with Sengkang, Woodlands, and Jurong West being the most popular. Meanwhile, mature estate Tampines posted the highest number of transactions, with 189 resale flats changing hands.
Chart 1: HDB resale volume and average transacted price by month
Source: PropNex Research, Data.gov.sg (retrieved on 3 June 2024)
Table 1: Average transacted HDB resale flat prices by Flat Type in last six months
| Flat Type | Dec-23 | Jan-24 | Feb-24 | Mar-24 | Apr-24 | May-24 | MOM % change |
| 3-ROOM | $412,651 | $420,936 | $425,098 | $423,212 | $430,591 | $432,071 | 0.3% |
| 4-ROOM | $597,880 | $597,705 | $599,686 | $610,418 | $604,800 | $612,619 | 1.3% |
| 5-ROOM | $698,992 | $712,135 | $691,786 | $706,353 | $710,615 | $719,132 | 1.2% |
| EXECUTIVE | $822,098 | $865,608 | $843,499 | $851,162 | $871,600 | $857,144 | -1.7% |
Source: PropNex Research, Data.gov.sg (retrieved on 3 June 2024)
By flat type, the average resale price of 4-room flats posted a 1.3% MOM increase in May to about $612,619, followed by 5-room flats which saw the average price rise by 1.2% MOM to $719,132. Meanwhile, the average price of 3-room resale flats inched up by 0.3% MOM, while that of executive flats dipped by 1.7% MOM in May after booking a 2.4% price growth in the previous month (see Table 1).
Evaluating the data by towns and flat types, a couple of flat types in mature towns witnessed a decline in the average resale price in May, with executive flats posting the steepest drop of 2.3% MOM to about $950,000, while that of 4-room flats eased by 1.4% MOM. By contrast, that of 5-room resale flats rose by 2.6% MOM to more than $840,000 (see Table 2). Over in non-mature towns, 4-room flats posted a decent price growth at 1.8% MOM to around $564,500 in May.
Table 2: Average transacted HDB resale flat prices in Mature and Non-mature towns
| Mature Towns | Non-Mature Towns | |||||
| Apr-24 | May-24 | % change MOM | Apr-24 | May-24 | % change MOM | |
| 3 ROOM | $440,902 | $442,797 | 0.4% | $418,363 | $415,714 | -0.6% |
| 4 ROOM | $707,956 | $697,990 | -1.4% | $554,405 | $564,503 | 1.8% |
| 5 ROOM | $818,695 | $840,376 | 2.6% | $658,951 | $665,246 | 1.0% |
| EXECUTIVE | $973,467 | $950,869 | -2.3% | $822,345 | $804,891 | -2.1% |
Source: PropNex Research, Data.gov.sg (retrieved on 3 June 2024)
In May 2024, mature towns made up the top 3 lists of estates in PropNex?s ranking of average transacted resale prices on a per square foot basis ($PSF) by flat types (see Table 3). The highest average PSF price for 4-room flats in May was $940 psf in the Central Area, while the Central Area and Bishan garnered the highest average unit resale price for 5-room flats and executive flats in the month at $997psf and $797 psf, respectively.
Table 3: Top 3 towns by Average $PSF transacted price by flat type in May 2024 (and corresponding price in previous month)
| 4-Room | |||||
| Top 3 | Apr-24 | May-24 | |||
| CENTRAL AREA | $787 | $940 | |||
| QUEENSTOWN | $952 | $874 | |||
| TOA PAYOH | $772 | $825 | |||
| 5-Room | Executive | ||||
| Top 3 | Apr-24 | May-24 | Top 3 | Apr-24 | May-24 |
| CENTRAL AREA | $955 | $997 | BISHAN | $772 | $797 |
| BUKIT TIMAH | - | $899 | ANG MO KIO | $617 | $706 |
| QUEENSTOWN | $772 | $888 | KALLANG/WHAMPOA | $564 | $660 |
Source: PropNex Research, Data.gov.sg (retrieved on 3 June 2024)
Chart 2: Proportion of HDB Resale Transactions by Price Range
Source: PropNex Research, Data.gov.sg (retrieved on 3 June 2024)
As per transaction data, 31.2% of resale flats sold in May were priced at below $500,000, compared with 32.8% in the previous month. Meanwhile, about 65.8% of the flats resold in the month were priced at between $500,000 and just under $1 mil ? up from 64.4% in April. The proportion of resale flats sold for at least $1 million accounted for 2.9% of the resale volume in May ? on par with that of April (See Chart 2).
In May 2024, there were 74 flats resold for at least $1 million, representing an 8.8% increase from the 68 units transacted in the previous month (see Chart 3). This takes the total number of such flats resold to 327 units in the first five months of 2024, on track to outdo the 469 units transacted in the whole of 2023. The number of million-dollar resale flats transacted in May matches the record number of 74 units sold in January.
Chart 3: Number of ?Million-dollar? HDB Resale Flats sold By Month
Source: PropNex Research, Data.gov.sg (retrieved on 3 June 2024)
Of the 74 flats resold for at least $1 million in May, six units are in non-mature towns - one each in Jurong East, Bukit Batok, and Yishun, as well as three units in Hougang. The remaining such flats are located in Kallang Whampoa (13 units), Bukit Merah (12), Toa Payoh (8), Queenstown (7), Geylang (6), Bishan (5), Bedok (4), Central Area (3), Ang Mo Kio (2), Clementi (2), Serangoon (2), and one each in Bukit Timah, Pasir Ris, Marina Parade and Tampines. By flat types, 33 of the flats are 5-room units, 22 are executive flats, 18 are 4-room flats, and one 3-room terrace flat in Jalan Bahagia.
The priciest HDB resale flat sold in May was a 5-room flat at Pinnacle @ Duxton in Cantonment Road, which fetched $1.515 million (see Table 4). The 106-sq m unit is located on a floor between the 37th and 39th storey and has a remaining lease of more than 85 years.
Notably, a new record resale price on a $PSF basis was set during the month, when a 93-sq m (1,001 sq ft) 4-room resale flat located between the 46th and 48th floor at Pinnacle @ Duxton was resold for $1.45 million or a unit price of $1,448 psf. The previous record unit price was $1,409 psf ? also from the sale of a 4-room resale unit in the same block in December 2023.
Table 4: Top 10 HDB resale flats sold in May 2024 by Transacted Price
| Town | Type | Street | Storey range | Floor area SQM | Lease start date | Price | PSF ($) |
| CENTRAL AREA | 5 ROOM | CANTONMENT RD | 37 TO 39 | 106 | 2011 | $1,515,000 | $1,328 |
| BISHAN | 5 ROOM | BISHAN ST 24 | 22 TO 24 | 120 | 2011 | $1,500,000 | $1,161 |
| BISHAN | EXECUTIVE | BISHAN ST 24 | 22 TO 24 | 172 | 1992 | $1,500,000 | $810 |
| CENTRAL AREA | 4 ROOM | CANTONMENT RD | 46 TO 48 | 93 | 2011 | $1,450,000 | $1,448 |
| BISHAN | EXECUTIVE | BISHAN ST 22 | 07 TO 09 | 141 | 1992 | $1,448,000 | $954 |
| TOA PAYOH | 5 ROOM | LOR 1A TOA PAYOH | 16 TO 18 | 110 | 2012 | $1,310,000 | $1,106 |
| BISHAN | EXECUTIVE | BISHAN ST 13 | 10 TO 12 | 146 | 1987 | $1,305,000 | $830 |
| QUEENSTOWN | 5 ROOM | TANGLIN HALT RD | 19 TO 21 | 110 | 2008 | $1,250,000 | $1,056 |
| BUKIT MERAH | 5 ROOM | KIM TIAN RD | 28 TO 30 | 113 | 2013 | $1,250,000 | $1,028 |
| CENTRAL AREA | 4 ROOM | CANTONMENT RD | 10 TO 12 | 93 | 2011 | $1,248,888 | $1,248 |
Source: PropNex Research, Data.gov.sg (retrieved on 3 June 2024)
