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Investing in a condominium or condo in Singapore has emerged as a highly sought-after option for both local residents and foreign investors. This can be attributed to the country’s strong economy, stable political atmosphere, and exceptional quality of life. The real estate market in Singapore presents a plethora of possibilities, with condos standing out for their various advantages such as convenience, amenities, and potential for significant returns on investment. For those considering investing in a condo in Singapore, it is worth exploring the benefits, important factors to consider, and necessary steps to take, especially with the constant launch of new condo developments.
HDB resale prices saw a 2.6% increase in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking the 19th consecutive quarter of price growth in the resale market according to data published by HDB on Jan 24. This brings the cumulative price increase in the public housing market to 9.7% over the course of the year. The yearly increase in prices almost doubled the 4.9% registered in 2023.
The surge in resale prices in the last quarter was slightly lower than the 2.7% increase recorded in the third quarter of 2024. According to Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI, the strong growth in resale prices throughout 2024 can be largely attributed to the limited supply of flats that reached their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) during the year. This tight supply put upward pressure on prices, especially for newer flats and larger flat types like five-room and executive units that cater to growing families.
Among the various flat types in the HDB resale market, five-room flats saw the highest price growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, with the average resale price jumping 2.2% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to $754,097. Resale prices for four-room flats also increased by 2.2% q-o-q to $652,544 in the same period.
The Central Area saw the highest increase in prices, growing 25.6% q-o-q, followed by Toa Payoh (12.1%), Tampines (6.9%), Bishan (6.7%), and Bedok (6.1%), according to Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group. About 285 HDB resale flats were sold for $1 million or more in the last quarter of 2024, bringing the total number of million-dollar HDB resale transactions for the whole year to 1,035. More than 90% of these transactions occurred in mature estates, with the Kallang/Whampoa estate recording the highest number at 156 units, followed by Toa Payoh (144 units) and Bukit Merah (135 units).
Resale transactions in the HDB market fell 21.1% q-o-q from 8,142 units sold in the third quarter of 2024 to 6,424 units sold in the fourth quarter. This dip can be attributed to seasonal factors such as the year-end holiday and festive season, says Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia. He adds that the lower interest rate environment may also have encouraged some buyers to consider the private residential market or the Executive Condominium (EC) market. Additionally, some prospective buyers may have opted to ballot for a flat in the latest Build-to-Order (BTO) sales exercise held in October 2024, says Sandrasegeran. The BTO exercise saw HDB launch 15 projects comprising 8,573 flats under the new location-based classification framework, with singles now allowed to buy two-room flexi BTO flats in all locations for the first time.
Despite the quarterly dip, the overall resale transaction volume for 2024 increased by 8.4% y-o-y from 26,735 units sold in 2023 to 28,986 units sold in 2024. This marks the largest number of yearly resale transactions since 2021, when 31,017 flats were sold. According to transaction data compiled by Huttons Asia, Sengkang, Woodlands, Punggol, Tampines, and Yishun were the top five most popular HDB towns among buyers in 2024, accounting for about 35.9% of all HDB resales in the year.
Looking ahead, about 6,976 flats are expected to reach the end of their MOP this year, a 41.6% decrease from the 11,952 flats in 2024. Sandrasegeran attributes this to the relatively fewer BTO flats completed in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. HDB has since announced plans to launch over 25,000 new flats across three BTO sales exercises in 2025, comprising 19,600 BTO flats and more than 5,500 flats under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise. Approximately 3,800 of the 19,600 BTO units will be designated as Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats, with wait times of less than three years. Sandrasegeran forecasts that resale prices in the HDB market for 2025 could increase by 3.5% to 5.5%, with resale transaction volume ranging between 26,000 and 27,000. But Lee projects a more optimistic price increase of between 5% and 8% across the year.…