SINGAPORE - Overall median cash premiums for Housing Board (HDB) resale flats continued to drop, with the premiums reaching a four-year low of $18,000 in August. July's median cash premium was $20,000 while the lowest median premium before last month's was recorded in July 2009 at $10,000
Here is the full report from Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX):
August 2013 Non-landed Private Residential Resales
Based on the SRX Property Index (SPI), resale prices of non-landed private residential units increased by 1.5% in Aug 2013, reaching a new high. This comes on the heals of a 0.5% drop in July and amid mild fluctuations in the recent months.
All three regions showed price gains in the past month. Rest of Central Region (RCR) led the trend by gaining 2.4%, followed by Core Central Region's (CCR) 1.8% increase. Outside Central Region (OCR) prices also inched up by 0.2%.
An estimated 540 non-landed homes were resold in August, similar to July's 573 units. On a year-on-year basis, this represents a more than 50% drop from the 1,240 units transacted in Aug 2012.
HDB Resale and Rental:
Overall HDB Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) dropped $2,000 in Aug to reach $18,000 - the lowest since July 2009, when the overall COV was $10,000. The lowest COV by region is in Punggol HDB Executives where 2 out of a total of 3 transactions last month were sold below valuation. The median COV for Punggol HDB executive flats was -$13,000. On the flip side, the highest COV is seen in Bishan HDB Executives where the median COV was $120,000.
Overall HDB resale prices slipped 0.7% in Aug, marking the fourth consecutive monthly drop in resale prices. This marks the first time prices have dropped by four consecutive months since Jan 2006.
HDB resale volume remained relatively flat. According to flash estimates, 1,280 HDB flats were sold in the resale market in August, similar to July's 1,286 resale cases. Year-on-year, August's resale volume represented a 29% drop from the same period in 2012.
An estimated 1,560 HDB flats were rented in August 2013, down by 3% compared to July. However, this number exceeded the 1,392 HDB rental transactions in August last year by 12%.
Non-landed Private Residential Rental:
Based on the non-landed residential rental SPI sub-index, overall rental prices for non-landed private residential in August slipped by 0.1% from July.
On a regional basis, rental prices in the CCR and RCR softened by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively, while OCR's rents strengthened by 0.5%.
Friday, Sep 06, 2013
The Straits Times
Source: AsiaOne