Talk of private and resale HDB markets decoupling could spark buyer frenzy
Recent price divergence masks deeper links between public and private housing.
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The resale HDB and private residential markets remain closely linked through overlapping buyer pools, household upgrading and downgrading, and the expectation that homes preserve wealth over time.
PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – The recent divergence between resale HDB and private housing price indexes has fuelled speculation that Singapore’s residential property market is splitting into two separate worlds and created fear that some Singaporeans might miss out forever if they do not upgrade to a private home now.
To understand why, look at the latest HDB resale price index, which fell by 0.3 per cent, marking a third consecutive quarterly decline. Over the same period, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s private residential property price index rose by 0.5 per cent, extending a seven-quarter run of price growth, albeit at a slower pace.