The View | Why Singaporeans need not fear million-dollar public housing sales

Prices in Singapore’s public housing system are under growing scrutiny as million-dollar sales make headlines and raise fears over affordability

Those sales are outliers, though, amid the government’s efforts to keep speculative demand to a minimum

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A couple walks through a neighbourhood park near high-rise public housing in Singapore. The Singapore government is increasing its efforts to tamp down speculation in an already-expensive housing market. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:31am, 21 May 2024

For an attention-grabbing headline in the coverage of Asia’s residential property sector, look no further than the sale last month of a flat in Singapore’s public housing system for a staggering S$1.58 million (US$1.17 million), a record high for a second-hand flat built by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the city state’s public housing authority.

According to PropNex Realty, which represented the seller of the five-room flat in Bukit Merah in the central region of Singapore, 185 HDB flats were resold for at least S$1 million each last quarter, exceeding the previous quarterly record. Moreover, HDB flat resale prices rose for the 16th straight quarter, having risen nearly 30 per cent in the past three years.

While sales in the private property market have fallen steeply since 2021 – partly because of the imposition of additional cooling measures, notably a doubling of extra stamp duties for non-residents buying homes to a staggering 60 per cent – transactions in the HDB resale market have experienced only a modest decline.

In fact, there are concerns there is too much speculative demand. Earlier this month, the government announced it was investigating two misleading listings of HDB resale flats that were put up for sale for an absurdly high S$2 million each. The listings were for a “jumbo” flat that turned out to be two adjacent flats ineligible to be merged and sold as a single unit and a “design, build, and sell” scheme flat that lacked approval to be put on the market.

The bogus listings were quickly taken down, with the government warning it would “not condone behaviour, whether by agents or sellers, that seeks to disrupt the market or fan consumer sentiment”.

However, this is easier said than done. While the number of flats sold for at least S$1 million accounted for just 2.6 per cent of HDB resale transactions in the first quarter, prices are rising in 19 of the 26 HDB towns and estates, according to OrangeTee.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}The View | Why Singaporeans need not fear million-dollar public housing sales

The View | Why Singaporeans need not fear million-dollar public housing sales