Resale HDB flats have declined by 7% in Q1 2020.
The resale volume for HDB flats declined 7% to 5,893 units in the first quarter of 2020 from 6,339 units in the fourth quarter of 2019, showed HDB data on Friday (24 April)
On an annual basis, resale volume climbed 21.9%.
“The quarter-on-quarter sales decline indicates that the pandemic and circuit breaker measures may have some impact on the HDB resale market,” said Christine Sun, Head of Research and Consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie.
“House viewings were discontinued as part of the containment measures and buying sentiment may have weakened in light of the current macroeconomic uncertainties.”
HDB resale prices, on the other hand, remained unchanged.
Five-room flats in Bukit Merah registered the highest median resale price at $817,500. This is followed by those in Clementi ($815,000), and Kallang and Whampoa ($698,700).
Sun expects HDB resale prices to enter negative territory in the event the health crisis persist and unemployment creeps up. Nonetheless, she says that property values may remain steady for areas of higher demand like those near MRT stations, city centre or amenities.
Meanwhile, HDB also revealed that it has approved 11,591 applications to rent out flats in Q1 2020, down 4% from the 12,079 cases in the previous quarter.
The number of approved application also fell 1.6% over the same period last year.
Sun attributed the drop in applications to fewer owners desiring to lease out their units in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the circuit breaker measures extended until 1 June, HDB announced that the sales launch scheduled in May have been deferred until further notice.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg