During the months of October, the volume regarding resale flats provided by the HDB decreased indeed, but we can’t say the same happened with their prices. Last month was the fourth month in a row when prices did not just stay steady but even increased, despite what everyone believed. This is a clear sign that demand still exists on the market, even if the pandemic threatened to ruin everyone’s plans.
Numbers show us that during last month 2,436 HDB units were sold. In comparison with what happened in September, the number of transactions dropped by 2.1%. Even so, these numbers exceeded any prediction and managed to become the months with the highest number of transactions of this kind. The last time such a phenomenon took place on the real estate market was back in 2018, during the month of June when units summing up $11 million were resold.
Regarding the resale units provided by the HDB, during the previous 10 months of the present year, a number of 59 flats found new owners. This means transactions of more than $1 million for the same period. According to the head of research and content, Ms. Wong Siew Ying, the figures recorded recently are a sign that the value of deals recorded in 2019 is going to be exceeded in 2020. More precisely, the total number of deals made last year summed up a value of $64 million. Well, this year, it is expected for numbers to look even better.
It is interesting to see how everything caught up on the real estate market, considering the decreases caused by the circuit breakers during the lockdown period. The month of October turned out to be the fifth month in a row when more than 2,400 units were sold. More than this, prices also increased since September, by 1.2%. This was the fourth consecutive month when prices recorded increases, instead of going down. It is possible that this increase to be stimulated by the demand for spacious resale units, in particular those located in highly appreciated areas, as Ms. Christine Sun stated, who is the head of research and consultancy at Orange Tee & Tie.
For some homebuyers, a crisis represents the opportunity to buy more with the same budget. So, this is what happened these past months as well. Families took the opportunity to buy larger homes with the same budget, which would have got them a smaller flat if it wasn’t for the crisis. Besides this, single people who wanted to move out of their parents’ home and had to work from home contributed to the increase in demand as well. Nicholas Mak, the head of research at ERA Realty, believes that the volume of resale HBD units could exceed the 23,714 value from last year, this year ranging between 23,500 and 24,800. Thus, 2020 is going to be a very surprising year, from all points of view, and both from a negative and positive perspective.
Learn more:
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/hdb-resale-prices-rise-for-4th-month-amid-sales-volume-dip
