Chart of the Day: HDB resales could hit 24,000 units in 2019

Resale prices may slide further by 1-2%, whilst rents may decline by 1-3% in 2019.

This chart from OrangeTee & Tie’s 2019 market outlook shows that the demand for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats is expected to remain resilient in 2019, as resale transactions are expected to hit 22,000-24,000 units.

Whilst this is lower than the supposed 10 year average of 33,700 units, the report highlighted that resale volumes are slowly gaining traction since 2015.

The Lion City inked 23,099 resales in 2018 which is a new high since 2012, the report noted, adding that demand is expected to be supply-led as more than 26,000 HDB flats may be put up in the resale market after reaching Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) in 2019. New hotspots in Sengkang, Punggol, and Yishun may emerge as many flats will be reaching their five-year MOP in 2019.

“The increased supply of new flats may attract more buyers as some of these resale flats are well located in mature estates or are built with new design concepts in the non-mature estates,” OrangeTee & Tie's managing director Steven Tan said.

In terms of price, weakness may continue to affect some segments especially smaller and older flats that are adversely affected by the increased supply of newer flats reaching MOP, lease decay issue and increased competition from HDB offering unsold new flats on a ‘rolling basis’, the report highlighted. Resale prices may slide further by 1-2%, whilst rents may correspondingly decline by 1-3% in 2019.