Monday, 20 October 2014

SRX HDB Report: Prices Down for 8th Consecutive Month - SRX

Headlines

  1. HDB resale prices drop for 8th consecutive month. HDB resale prices dipped 0.5% in September compared to August 2014.  HDB 3, 4, and 5 -room flats drove the overall index down with declines of 0.2%, 0.2% and 1.6%, respectively.  In comparison, Executive flat prices increased slightly by 0.1%.

According to the SRX HDB Price Index:

  • Year-on-year, prices have dropped 7.5% from September 2013;
  • Prices have declined 8.9% since the peak in April 2013;
  • September 2014 prices mark a 20-month low since Jan 2012.
  1. Resale volume improved. According to HDB resale data compiled by SRX Property, 1,469 HDB resale flats were sold in September, a 10.7% increase from 1,327 transacted units in August.
  • Year-on-year, resale volume increased by 19.9% compared with 1,225 units resold in September 2013;
  • Resale volume is down 59.7% compared to its peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.

  1. Rental volume dropped. An estimated 1,483 HDB flats were rented in September 2014, a 6.7% decrease compared to 1,590 units rented in August 2014. 
  • Year-on-year, rental volume in September 2014 is 0.7% lower compared with 1,493 units rented in September 2013.

  1. Rental prices slipped slightly. According to the SRX HDB Price Index for Rentals, rents posted a small decrease of 0.3% in September compared to August.  HDB 3, 5-room and Executive flats posted declines in rent of 0.5%, 0.3% and 0.8% respectively, while 4 room flats saw slight rent increases of 0.1%
  • Year-on-year basis, rents in September 2014 are down 2.5% from September 2013.

  1. Overall median Transaction Over X-Value (T-O-X) remains negative. According to SRX Property, HDB prices continue to face downward pressure and negative market sentiment.  The median T-O-X for HDBmeasures whether people are overpaying or underpaying the SRX Property X-Value estimated market value.
  • Median T-O-X was NEGATIVE $2,000 in September 2014. This is an increase of $1,000 from the NEGATIVE $3,000 in August 2014;
  • The median T-O-X has been negative since May 2013.

  1. Bukit Panjang and Toa Payoh with relatively high activity and  POSITIVE median T-O-X. For HDB towns with more than 10 resale transactions in September 2014, only Bukit Panjang and Toa Payoh reported positive median TOX of $5,500 and $2,500, respectively. This means that majority of the buyers in these towns has purchased units above the computer-generated market value.

  1. Among relatively active towns, Sengkang posts the most Negative median T-O-X. Among HDB towns with more than 10 transactions, the lowest median T-O-X were in Sengkang, Choa Chu Kang, Kallang/Whampoa, and Woodlands, at NEGATIVE $ 10,500, NEGATIVE $9,000, NEGATIVE $5,000, and NEGATIVE $5,000, respectively. This means that majority of the buyers in these towns has purchased units below the computer generated market value.
Source: SRX (13 Oct 2014)