Resale flat prices for 2023 rose 4.8%, less than half of 2022’s increase

SINGAPORE: Resale flat prices for 2023 rose by 4.8 per cent, less than half of the 10.4 per cent increase in 2022, according to the Housing and Development Board (HDB)’s flash estimates.

The resale price index, which reflects the general price movements in the resale market, grew to 180.2 in the fourth quarter – an increase of 1.0 per cent over the previous quarter, HDB’s flash estimate showed.

This is lower than the 1.3 per cent growth in the third quarter of 2023 and lower than the average quarterly growth of 2.5 per cent in 2022, HDB said in a press release on Tuesday (Jan 2).

The rate of increase in resale prices has continued to moderate following the government’s implementation of a strong pipeline of supply, as well as the introduction of cooling measures to promote a stable and sustainable property market, said HDB.

Among the cooling measures implemented in December 2021September 2022 and April 2023 were a wait-out period of 15 months before private property owners could purchase a non-subsidised HDB resale flat and the lowering of loan-to-value limit for HDB housing loans.

“More broadly, as global economic activity is expected to ease further into 2024, with domestic mortgage rates at elevated levels, households should continue to exercise financial prudence in their flat purchase,” HDB said.

The resale volume of the fourth quarter in 2023 is also the lowest compared to the last three years, HDB added.

The resale volume in Q4 2023 (up to Dec 28) is 6,440, which is 2.3 per cent lower than the previous quarter (6,592 up to Sep 28). For the full year up to Dec 28, 2023, the total resale volume is 26,628 – 3.8 per cent lower than the total resume volume last year (27,686).