While the number of transactions for HDB flats rose by 16 per cent in the second quarter of the year from the previous three months, resale prices for public housing fell by 1.4 per cent over the same period, the Housing and Development Board said on Friday (July 25).
The Resale Price Index slipped to 195.7 in the second quarter, down from 198.5 in the January-March period, but resale transactions increased by 16 per cent, from 3,781 to 4,389 cases.
The rental market saw a 0.4 per cent dip on-quarter in the number of transactions in the April-June period, from from 8,485 to 8,455 cases, said HDB. This is despite the total number of HDB flats approved for subletting rising slightly, by 0.8 per cent, from 46,637 units in the first quarter of 2014 to 47,015 units in the recent quarter.
The HDB said that more flats will be on offer in the second half of the year than the first. A total of 13,090 flats – 9,707 Build-To-Order (BTO) and 3,383 balance flats – were offered in the first half of the year. But in the 2nd half of 2014, HDB will offer another 12,700 BTO flats, as well as about 3,000 balance flats in a Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise in November 2014.
This includes 3,841 BTO flats launched in the July 2014 BTO exercise. In September 2014, HDB will offer about 4,510 BTO flats in Bukit Batok, Hougang, Jurong and Kallang/Whampoa.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 25 Jul 2014