Press Release

Sustained demand for homes spurred price growth in private and public housing market in Q1 2021

Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex:
&ldquo The performance of the private residential market exceeded expectations in 2020 and the main drivers that have spurred sales and supported prices last year continued to propel the market in Q1 2021. Specifically, the ample liquidity in the market, low interest rates, and rising optimism remain the key catalysts for sales, which helped to support prices. 

The estimated 2.9% increase in private home prices in Q1 2021 was unsurprising, given the healthy demand across the new home sale and resale markets. Factoring the latest flash estimate, overall private home values have risen by 6.2% over the past year, with the bulk of the increase taking place in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 &ndash where prices collectively increased by about 5.1% over the two quarters.

Looking back, when the government intervened with fresh cooling measures in July 2018, it noted that prices rose sharply by about 9% over the preceding four quarters and that demand had recovered strongly. While prices have not risen as much this time, the pace of price growth, particularly in the last two quarters will certainly draw the government&rsquo s attention and may heighten the risk of new cooling measures being introduced down the road. We believe the final pricing data for Q1 and Q2 this year will be closely watched and a stronger pick-up in home values could likely trigger new measures to keep prices in check.

In Q1 2021, new launches that were priced sensitively were well-received, as seen by the robust take-up at some projects, such as Normanton Park, The Reef At King&rsquo s Dock, Parc Central Residences EC, and more recently at Midtown Modern. Quantum play will remain a key pricing strategy for developers in driving sales momentum. Based on caveats lodged, the average price quantum of non-landed new homes sold between January and end-March 2021 was about $1.6 million, fairly in line with that of Q4 2020. Such a price point is still relatively attractive to many buyers and investors. Meanwhile, over in the private residential resale market, we observe that resale prices have crept up in recent months, driven by the strong demand and also perhaps taking a cue from the firm prices in the new launch segment and the recovery in HDB resale prices. 

For 2021, we project that overall private home values may potentially increase by 5% to 6%, supported by new launches &ndash many of them located in the CCR and RCR &ndash as well as the dwindling unsold inventory in the market. However, we remain watchful of any pre-emptive moves on the government&rsquo s part to tame further price increase in the private residential market.&rdquo

Q1 2021 HDB Resale Price Index (Flash Estimate)
The flash estimate released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) showed that resale prices of public housing flats rose by 2.8% in Q1 2021. With an index reading of 142.0 in Q1 2021, the HDB resale price index is now 5% below the recent peak in Q2 2013. 

Wong Siew Ying, Head of Research and Content, PropNex:
&ldquo HDB resale prices continued to climb in Q1 2021 amid the healthy demand for resale flats. Including the latest estimate, HDB resale prices have risen by about 8% over the past four quarters &ndash a pace which we think is still relatively sustainable. Prior to its recovery from the second half of 2019, the HDB resale price index had notched six consecutive years of decline from 2013 to 2018. 

As prices recover, some HDB flat owners may see this as an opportune time to sell their flat and trade up to a private home. In addition, there is a sizable number of HDB flat owners due to complete their 5-year Minimum Occupation Period this year &ndash we estimate that this could be over 25,000 flats &ndash which will enable them to sell their unit on the resale market. The potential injection of more resale flats into the market will help to stimulate demand, while transactions of newer flats &ndash which tend to command a higher price - will prop up values. For the whole of 2021, we forecast that HDB resale prices could grow by 4% to 5%, barring any unforeseen events.&rdquo