Housing Board resale flats remain a hot item among home buyers here, with 53 resale flats changing hands for at least $1 million each in the first quarter of this year.
This is the highest quarterly level of such transactions on record, and this year is likely to see a record number of million-dollar HDB flats sold, said Ms Christine Sun, OrangeTee & Tie's senior vice-president of research and analytics.
PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said some HDB flat owners may see it as an opportune time to sell and trade up to a private home as prices in the overall market recover.
In addition, around 25,000 HDB flats will reach their five-year minimum occupation period this year, allowing them to be resold, Ms Wong added.
"The potential injection of more resale flats into the market will help to stimulate demand, while transactions of newer flats - which tend to command a higher price - will prop up value," she said.
This comes against a backdrop of a fourth straight quarterly rise in HDB resale prices.
The steady rate of growth - up 2.8 per cent over the final quarter of last year, according to HDB flash estimates - has left prices just 5 per cent under their 2013 peak, noted Ms Sun.
A new peak could be formed by the second half of this year, she added.
The rise in value has come after a long lean spell: Resale prices notched up six straight years of decline from 2013 to 2018, until a recovery began in the second half of 2019.
Ms Sun said average prices in 22 of the 26 HDB towns rose in the first quarter of this year, from the last quarter of 2020.
Toa Payoh (prices up 17 per cent, with 244 units sold), Bukit Timah (11.2 per cent, 28 units) and Bedok (8 per cent, 402 units) posted the highest quarterly increases.
PropNex forecasts that HDB resale prices could rise by 4 per cent to 5 per cent this year, barring any unforeseen events.
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25,000
Number of HDB flats reaching their five-year minimum occupation period this year, allowing them to be resold.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia director of research, however, noted that resale volume in the HDB market has slowed in the first two months of this year.
This is because of "increased resistance amongst buyers to pay higher prices and more cash down payment", he said, adding that price growth may slow in the coming quarters.
Yesterday, HDB announced the launch of 8,700 Build-To-Order flats, with 3,800 flats to be offered next month in Bukit Merah, Geylang, Tengah and Woodlands.
A further 4,900 flats in Hougang, Jurong East, Kallang Whampoa, Queenstown and Tampines will open for sale in August.
"Given the economic uncertainty due to Covid-19, HDB is monitoring the housing market closely and will calibrate the supply if required," it said.
In the private property market, prices climbed 2.9 per cent in the first three months of this year, from the last quarter of 2020.
This was partly driven by a strong landed homes market. Prices of landed properties climbed 5.6 per cent in the first quarter, reversing from a 1.6 per cent fall in the previous quarter.
This is largely due to interest in good class bungalows from ultra-high-net-worth individuals, especially those who have become Singapore citizens, said Mr Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore.
"With landed home supply not likely to increase significantly, these homes have become the new blue chip."
• Additional reporting by Grace Leong
