THE transaction volume of Housing & Development Board (HDB) resale flats climbed 8.1 per cent month-on- month in May 2017 amid a 0.1 per cent price dip.
These findings are based on SRX Property's flash estimates released on Thursday for the public housing resale market for last month.
The slight easing in SRX Property's price index for HDB resale flats last month over April 2017 follows a 0.3 per cent month-on-month drop in April 2017.
Year on year, the price index has shed 0.7 per cent from May 2016. From the peak in April 2013, the index has declined 11.6 per cent.
Data compiled by SRX Property shows that an estimated 1,983 HDB flats were resold last month, 8.1 per cent higher than the 1,834 units in April 2017.
Year- on-year, too, the figure was up 7.5 per cent from the 1,844 units resold in May 2016.
That said, last month's resale volume was 45.7 per cent below the peak of 3,649 units in May 2010.
Year on year, SRX Property's price index for resale flats in mature estates inched up 0.1 per cent while the index for non-mature estates fell 1.3 per cent.
OrangeTee's head of research and consultancy Wong Xian Yang commented that HDB resale prices have continued to stabilise with prices down only 0.6 per cent year to date.
Volumes have also risen with around 8,300 units sold in January to May 2017, compared to 8,100 units in 2016 during the same corresponding period.
"According to recent media reports, the proportion of first-time buyers who chose to buy resale HDB flats (as against picking up a Build-To-Order, or BTO, flat from the Housing Board) has increased from 9 per cent in 2012 to 19 per cent in 2016.
"This suggests that Singaporeans are willing to fork out a premium to secure a home early and in choice locations," he said.
Additionally, the downtrend in HDB resale prices since 2013 coupled with generous CPF grants also increased the attractiveness of buying a resale flat, Mr Wong added.
"Hence demand for resale HDB flats is expected to remain healthy and HDB resale price growth is expected to be range-bound between -1 per cent and +1 per cent, as strict loan curbs continue to keep prices at bay. Resale HDB volumes are expected to grow about 2 to 5 per cent in 2017 over 2016."
Savills Singapore research head Alan Cheong noted that with a subdued employment market, it is possible that first-time homebuyers may opt for BTO flats from the Housing Board rather than for resale flats, which even after the grant, may require buyers to fork out more than for a new unit from HDB.
Source: SRX (09 Jun 2017)