SINGAPORE - The Housing Board resale market is showing its resilience with prices climbing 1.1 per cent in April, the second straight month they have gone up.

HDB resale prices had been rising since June 2020 before plateauing in February, and then rebounding with a 1 per cent increase in March. April’s overall prices were 8.4 per cent higher than a year before.

Flats in mature estates continued to attract a premium, with resale prices rising faster than for flats in non-mature estates for the second consecutive month. 

In April, prices in mature estates were up by 1 per cent, and those in non-mature estates by 0.8 per cent.

Prices also went up for all flat types compared with March. Five-room flats recorded the highest increase of 1.9 per cent, followed by 1 per cent for executive flats. Three-room resale flat prices crept up by 0.7 per cent, and four-room flats by 0.3 per cent.

The number of HDB resale flats sold in April fell by 4.3 per cent – or 99 units – to an estimated 2,188 units, according to flash data released by real estate portals 99.co and SRX on Thursday. This is 3.7 per cent lower compared with April 2022.

April’s resale volume, however, was still higher than the monthly average of 2,176 units sold from October 2022 to March 2023, OrangeTee & Tie’s senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun pointed out.

“Demand was probably boosted by more buyers returning to the resale market as the Government announced in Budget 2023 that more Central Provident Fund housing grants will be given to first-timers buying resale flats,” said Ms Sun.

“As anticipated, some first-timers may have switched from buying cheaper flats in non-mature estates to pricier ones in mature estates since they can use the additional grants to top up the price difference.”

Since February, first-timer families buying two- to four-room HDB resale flats get a grant of $80,000, up from $50,000. Those who buy five-room or larger units can get $50,000, up from $40,000. 

Ms Sun said April’s stronger price growth and robust sales showed that the resale market remains resilient despite the cooling measures announced last September that tightened lending limits on buyers looking to finance their flat purchase. Private home owners must also wait 15 months after the sale of their home before they can buy a resale flat without housing grants.

PropNex Realty’s head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said the HDB resale market was finding its footing and likely stabilising after last September’s curbs.

The latest signs point to a moderation in HDB resale price growth, which could encourage more prospective buyers to review their options in the resale flat market, she added.

On April 27, the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) was raised for citizens and permanent residents buying their second and subsequent properties.

Ms Sun said: “The latest property curbs may not have a direct impact on the HDB market as the ABSD increases do not apply to HDB buyers. However, flat owners who wish to invest in private properties may be affected.” 

Mr Luqman Hakim, chief data and analytics officer at 99.co, said the ABSD hike could put pressure on rental demand and prices, “prompting spillover demand from tenants as they reinvest and buy HDB resale flats”.

Property portal Mogul.sg’s chief research officer Nicholas Mak said overall prices of bigger flats rose at a faster pace than those for smaller flats in April due to the steady increase of private housing prices, making such private homes unattainable for some buyers.

“Furthermore, buyers who want family-size homes with bigger space but have financial constraints will seek out the larger HDB resale flats. This led to a faster price expansion for the bigger flats,” said Mr Mak.

There were 37 HDB resale flats that were sold for at least $1 million in April, down from 39 in March. There were 24 such flats sold in February and 40 in January.

The million-dollar units made up 1.7 per cent of the total resale volume in April, with Toa Payoh recording eight such transactions, followed by Bishan and Kallang/Whampoa with six units each. The rest were sold in the central area, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Bukit Merah, Clementi, Queenstown and Yishun.

A five-room and a four-room unit at The Pinnacle@Duxton were each sold for $1.4 million, marking the highest transacted prices in April.

In non-mature estates, the highest transacted price was $1,051,800 for an executive flat in Yishun Avenue 4.