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03-04-2012, 07:47 AM
Still moving up! I feel sorry for the younger generation of married couples who cannot get a BTO and cannot afford a resale HDB.....
The Straits Times
Apr 3, 2012
HDB resale prices post smallest rise since 2009
By Jessica Cheam
PRICES of HDB resale flats rose 0.6 per cent in the first quarter, in the latest sign that it has hit a ceiling and might even correct down the road.
The estimate, released by the Housing Board (HDB) yesterday, is less than half the 1.7 per cent increase in the last quarter of 2011, and could mark the tail end of a spectacular bull run that saw prices spike 84 per cent in the past five years.
The 0.6 per cent rise is the lowest registered since the first quarter of 2009, when the bull run took a breather and prices corrected by 0.8 per cent in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Property analysts said HDB resale flats have hit a price ceiling due to the Housing Board injecting a record number of homes in the market and relaxing eligibility rules for buyers. Its latest initiative was to set aside 15 per cent of new flats in non-mature estates, up from 5 per cent, for second-time buyers.
ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim said more buyers have flocked to the new-home segment - a trend reflected in the lower number of resale transactions.
ERA estimates that 4,700 resale flats were transacted in the first quarter, a 20 per cent drop from the previous quarter's 5,921. Compared to the first three months of last year, the fall is 24 per cent.
Mr Lim said larger flats such as five-room and executive types were seeing a bigger reduction in sales done, compared to three- and four-room flats. Such flat types are seeing more competition from the large number of units offered under the HDB's Build-to-Order (BTO), Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) and executive condo projects.
The dip in activity has pared the cash premiums paid for resale flats, also known as cash-over-valuation or COV.
ERA's data showed median COV across all flat types and towns went down from about $33,000 in the fourth quarter to $27,000 in the first quarter.
Property agency PropNex saw a similar COV drop in its transactions, from $32,000 in the fourth quarter to about $25,000 in the first quarter.
'Median COV across the board is likely to decrease in the year ahead. We envisage the COV to stabilise at $15,000 by the end of this year,' said Mr Lim.
PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said: 'HDB resale market prices have reached their peak and are not expected to further increase in the coming quarters as buyers are becoming reluctant to pay high COVs.'
He predicted that resale flat prices may begin to correct towards the end of the year. He also noted that as prices stabilise and COV amounts dip, it could be an 'ideal time' for some buyers - who do not qualify for new HDB flats or who urgently need a home - to begin looking for resale units.
Property agents said they are feeling the impact of the slowdown and are diversifying into other segments - such as private residential and office - to make up for lost income.
Mr Lee Han Sing, vice-president at C&H Properties who specialises in HDB sales, said it used to take two to three weeks to sell one HDB flat during the busy period last year. Now, it can take two to three months. 'The market has fewer units and fewer buyers too,' he added.
The HDB said yesterday it will offer another 4,640 new BTO flats next month in Choa Chu Kang, Kallang/Whampoa, Punggol and Sengkang.
It has pledged to provide 25,000 new homes this year. Its latest bumper sale of 8,000 flats launched last week, which closes today, has attracted healthy demand with almost three times more applications than units rolled out.
The HDB said more details of first-quarter housing data will be released on April 27.
The Straits Times
Apr 3, 2012
HDB resale prices post smallest rise since 2009
By Jessica Cheam
PRICES of HDB resale flats rose 0.6 per cent in the first quarter, in the latest sign that it has hit a ceiling and might even correct down the road.
The estimate, released by the Housing Board (HDB) yesterday, is less than half the 1.7 per cent increase in the last quarter of 2011, and could mark the tail end of a spectacular bull run that saw prices spike 84 per cent in the past five years.
The 0.6 per cent rise is the lowest registered since the first quarter of 2009, when the bull run took a breather and prices corrected by 0.8 per cent in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Property analysts said HDB resale flats have hit a price ceiling due to the Housing Board injecting a record number of homes in the market and relaxing eligibility rules for buyers. Its latest initiative was to set aside 15 per cent of new flats in non-mature estates, up from 5 per cent, for second-time buyers.
ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim said more buyers have flocked to the new-home segment - a trend reflected in the lower number of resale transactions.
ERA estimates that 4,700 resale flats were transacted in the first quarter, a 20 per cent drop from the previous quarter's 5,921. Compared to the first three months of last year, the fall is 24 per cent.
Mr Lim said larger flats such as five-room and executive types were seeing a bigger reduction in sales done, compared to three- and four-room flats. Such flat types are seeing more competition from the large number of units offered under the HDB's Build-to-Order (BTO), Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) and executive condo projects.
The dip in activity has pared the cash premiums paid for resale flats, also known as cash-over-valuation or COV.
ERA's data showed median COV across all flat types and towns went down from about $33,000 in the fourth quarter to $27,000 in the first quarter.
Property agency PropNex saw a similar COV drop in its transactions, from $32,000 in the fourth quarter to about $25,000 in the first quarter.
'Median COV across the board is likely to decrease in the year ahead. We envisage the COV to stabilise at $15,000 by the end of this year,' said Mr Lim.
PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said: 'HDB resale market prices have reached their peak and are not expected to further increase in the coming quarters as buyers are becoming reluctant to pay high COVs.'
He predicted that resale flat prices may begin to correct towards the end of the year. He also noted that as prices stabilise and COV amounts dip, it could be an 'ideal time' for some buyers - who do not qualify for new HDB flats or who urgently need a home - to begin looking for resale units.
Property agents said they are feeling the impact of the slowdown and are diversifying into other segments - such as private residential and office - to make up for lost income.
Mr Lee Han Sing, vice-president at C&H Properties who specialises in HDB sales, said it used to take two to three weeks to sell one HDB flat during the busy period last year. Now, it can take two to three months. 'The market has fewer units and fewer buyers too,' he added.
The HDB said yesterday it will offer another 4,640 new BTO flats next month in Choa Chu Kang, Kallang/Whampoa, Punggol and Sengkang.
It has pledged to provide 25,000 new homes this year. Its latest bumper sale of 8,000 flats launched last week, which closes today, has attracted healthy demand with almost three times more applications than units rolled out.
The HDB said more details of first-quarter housing data will be released on April 27.
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