Single-digit fall in HDB resale prices in 2015 will be a 'good development': Khaw

HDB flats in Bishan. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
HDB flats in Bishan. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

SINGAPORE - National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan hopes that 2014's slow slide in Housing Board resale prices will continue into 2015.

"If what we observe this year continues into next year, I would consider that a very good development," he told reporters on Monday morning.

Asked if a double-digit fall in prices was expected, he said he hoped that would not be the case. Single-digit changes are easier for people to accept, he added.

Experts expect HDB resale prices to have fallen by under 8 per cent for the whole of this year.

Mr Khaw was speaking to the media at a handover ceremony for a completed block in the Waterway Woodcress Build-to-Order project, the first HDB waterfront project along My Waterway@Punggol.

Besides a greater supply of new flats from 2011 to 2013, the fall in resale prices has also been due to cooling measures. Some are temporary and will be relaxed when the time is right, but others which relate to financial prudence, such as the Total Debt Servicing Ratio framework, should be preserved, said Mr Khaw.

With the first-timer backlog of demand for new flats cleared, Mr Khaw said that for the year ahead, his focus will be singles and low-income families who cannot yet afford flats and are renting.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.