HDB resale market hits new marks
Be ready to cough up even more hard cash if you are planning to buy a resale HDB flat any time soon, say analysts as the bouyant public residential market – in parallel with the private home sector – set record highs.
Housing board statistics on Friday confirmed what flat-seekers have been complaining about in recent months: The median cash over valuation (COV) – what a buyer has to pay in cash, over and above the bank’s valuation of the property – jumped four times to $12,000 during July to September, from $3,000 in the previous quarter.
Buyers in Yishun and Jurong West had to fork out the most in COV: On average, they paid $16,900. Analysts said this was because the valuation of flats in these two estates was generally lower than for units elsewhere, even though they offer comparable amenities and accessibility.
At the other end of the scale, those who bought resale flats in Pasir Ris paid $7,000 in COV on average.
With the number of new private homes sold hitting a high of 5,578 in Q3, the HDB resale market also set two new marks: First, its resale price index hit a new peak of 145.2. Second, the 11,649 units sold meant that the number of transactions within a quarter is the highest since HDB released such data in 2000. Continue reading
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