The weakening Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale market is expected to weigh on the private property market, as upgraders will have less money at their disposal when looking for a new home.
“There will be an impact on the private housing market because upgraders are typically former HDB flat owners. So, with the HDB resale market slowing down, we may see a smaller number of upgraders moving on to buy private properties,” said ERA’s Key Executive Officer Eugene Lim.
“We have already seen this happening in 2013: The final number of transactions in the private market is expected to be 20 to 30 per cent down. This means there are already fewer people moving on to the private market,” he said.
Making matters worse is the additional buyer’s stamp duty, which hinders upgraders looking to purchase a private property, he added, saying this may drive more prospective buyers to the executive condominium (EC) market.
“That’s holding back genuine upgraders from the HDB market from buying private property … but they won’t have that problem if they buy ECs.”
Source : Today – 10 Jan 2014