Resale flat prices also rose 0.5% quarter-on-quarter.
There were 23,714 resale flat transactions in 2019, the highest in 7 years. This figure is also 2.7% higher compared to 2018, where there were 23,099 transactions, based on HDB’s Q4 2019 public housing data.
On a quarterly basis, resale transactions increased 1.2% to 6,339 cases in the Q4 2019 from 6,264 cases in the previous quarter.
According to the HDB resale price index, prices of resale flats also rose by 0.5% in Q4 2019, the second consecutive quarterly increase following the 0.1% increase in Q3 2019. On a year-on-year basis, there was a 0.1% increase.
“The HDB resale market staged a surprising turnaround last year as prices of flats rebounded and sales volume rose higher last year,” said Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie.
She noted that the cumulative effect of multiple policies “seemed effective in mitigating further price falls arising from the concerns surrounding the lease depreciation of older flats and the increasing supply of flats”.
Some of the important policy changes introduced last year include allowing buyers greater flexibility in using CPF to purchase older flats and the enhancement of CPF housing grant to raise housing affordability for more Singaporeans.
Rental market continues to strengthen
HDB data also showed that the number of flats rented out climbed 1.3% quarter-on-quarter to 56,474 units in Q4 2019.
This comes as the number of approved applications to rent out flats inched up 0.6% quarter-on-quarter and 5.2% year-on-year to 12,079 cases in Q4 2019.
About 17,000 BTO flats to launch in 2020
Meanwhile, HDB revealed that it will launch around 16,000 to 17,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats for sale this year.
It noted that about 3,000 BTO flats in Toa Payoh and Sembawang will be offered during the first BTO exercise in February, while another 3,700 BTO flats in Choa Chu Kang, Tampines, Pasir Ris and Tengah will be offered in May.
It added that there will be no Re-offer of Balance Flats (ROF) exercise in February as it is “reviewing its sale processes for balance flats to better serve the needs of home buyers”.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
Source : proppertyguru.com.sg/Property Market
Read more…HDB resale transaction up 2.7% in 2019
