Hdb Resale Price Growth Slows 16 1Q2025 Despite Record Number Million Dollar Flats

HDB Resale Prices Showed Signs of Stabilizing in 1Q2025

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The Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale market saw a slower growth in prices in the first quarter of 2025, with a quarterly increase of just 1.6%. This is lower than the 2.6% increase seen in the previous quarter, and the slowest quarterly growth in over a year since 4Q2023.This could be the result of the February 2025 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, which saw a record 5,500 flats offered for sale, according to Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons. This increase in supply may have helped to moderate the increase in resale prices during the quarter.Of the 25 HDB towns, 19 recorded price gains in 1Q2025. The top three towns with the highest quarterly price growth were Clementi (15.4%), Marine Parade (7.2%), and Bukit Merah (6.2%). These gains, however, were smaller than those seen in 4Q2024, such as Central Area (25.6%) and Toa Payoh (12.1%).Additionally, there were some towns that saw price declines in 1Q2025, the largest of which were in the Central Area (18.5%) and Geylang (7%). These falls were bigger than those seen in 4Q2024 in Ang Mo Kio, where prices fell more modestly by 5%.According to Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group, these trends may be an indication of increasing price resistance among buyers, and may lead to slower price growth in the upcoming months.By room type, three-room units saw the highest growth in 1Q2025 with average prices rising 2.3% q-o-q from $455,120 in 4Q2024 to $465,416 in 1Q2025. Five-room units also saw notable growth of 2.1%, followed by four-room units which saw average prices rise 1.9% in the quarter. Conversely, the slowest quarterly price growth was seen in multi-gen and executive units, at 1.4%, followed by two-room units at 1.6%, according to HDB caveats.Lee points out that since singles have been allowed to apply for two-room flexi Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in all locations since October 2024, demand may have shifted away from smaller units in the secondary market.According to HDB’s flash estimates, the average price of HDB resale flats has seen a 1.5% q-o-q increase in the first quarter of 2025.Photo: HuttonsThe Million-Dollar Club GrowsDespite the moderated overall price growth in 1Q2025, an estimated 348 HDB resale flats were sold for seven figures, marking a 22.1% increase over the previous quarter and making it the highest number ever sold in a single quarter.According to Huttons’ data analytics, 57 of these transactions were for units that had just reached their Mandatory Occupation Period (MOP) of five years. This exceeds the number of five-year-old million-dollar resale flats sold in the whole of 2024. This could be the result of the MOP period ending for several centrally located HDB estates such as Alkaff Crescent, Bidadari Park Drive, Circuit Road, Dawson Road and St George’s Lane, says Lee.Photo: HuttonsOver 90% of million-dollar transactions were in mature estates with Toa Payoh recording the highest number of million-dollar flats sold in the quarter at 68. Bukit Merah took the silver medal with 53 flats and Queenstown rounded out the top three with 42 flats. Overall, million-dollar flats made up around 5.3% of total transactions for 1Q2025. According to Huttons’ data analytics, million-dollar flats made up approximately 5.3% of total resale transactions for 1Q2025.Photo: HuttonsRentals on the Rise1Q2025 saw a 12.3% rise in approved rental applications, from 8,603 units in 4Q2024 to 9,662 in the first three months of this year. Year-on-year, rental applications rose 2.8 per cent from 9,398 units.An increase in rental demand is usually seen after the year-end holidays and festive season, explains Sun. Recently, there has been a noticeable rise in foreign students and expatriates returning to Singapore. Some landlords have also been more open to negotiating rents, given the intense competition for tenants from the private rental market.Upcoming SupplyIn July, HDB will launch around 5,400 BTO flats in Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang, Clementi, Sembawang, Tampines, Toa Payoh, and Woodlands. Additionally, HDB will be conducting a concurrent SBF exercise offering around 3,000 flats. This brings the total SBF supply this year to around 8,500 flats, the largest seen since 2017.This is in line with HDB’s target of launching 50,000 BTO flats from 2025 to 2027, including the 19,600 BTO units slated to be launched this year.Market OutlookThe HDB resale market is expected to remain tight for the rest of 2025, says Lee. However, with the fresh supply of resale flats limited and no BTO or SBF exercises set to launch in 2Q2025, prices may begin to pick up.However, the mid-term outlook is still dependant on several external factors such as sustained elevated interest rates, job security, household income growth and how the ongoing trade war might escalate, notes Sun. She adds that amid an atmosphere of heightened caution, many potential buyers may exercise greater restraint to avoid overstretching their budgets.Meanwhile, over the long term, the supply of newly MOP units is expected to increase over the next two years. Around 8,000 flats are expected to reach the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) in 2025, 13,500 in 2026, and 19,500 in 2028. Lim anticipates HDB resale prices to rise at between 3-6% with 26,000 to 27,000 resale HDB flat transactions by the end of 2025, while Lee has a more optimistic forecast with prices rising between 5-8% over a similar number of transactions.