Press Release
25 Apr 2025
HDB has just released the Q1 2025 public housing data.
https://www.hdb.gov.sg/about-us/news-and-publications/press-releases/Upcoming-Flat-Supply-1st-Quarter-2025-Public-Housing-Data
The HDB resale market exhibited notable resilience as prices rose for the 20th consecutive quarter. However, price growth has slowed for a second consecutive quarter, indicating some price resistance. According to public housing statistics released by HDB, prices rose by 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, slowing down from the 2.6 per cent growth registered in the fourth quarter and the 2.7 per cent gains in the third quarter of 2024. Furthermore, Last quarter’s price growth was lower than the 1.8 per cent recorded in Q1 2024 and is the slowest growth since Q4 2023 at 1.1 per cent.
The number of towns registering a quarterly price growth dipped slightly from 20 in Q4 2024 to 19 in the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, the number of towns experiencing a quarterly price fall had risen from six to seven over the same period. Last quarter, the most substantial average price increases were observed in Clementi (15.4 per cent), Marine Parade (7.2 per cent), Bukit Merah (6.2 per cent), and Queenstown (5.8 per cent), but they were smaller than the highest gains in the Central Area (25.6 per cent) and Toa Payoh (12.1 per cent) in Q4 2024. Price declines were considerably larger, with the biggest falls in the Central Area at 18.5 per cent and Geylang at 7 per cent in Q1 2025, compared to the highest decline of 5 per cent in Ang Mo Kio in Q4 2024. The price trends are further indications of increasing price resistance among buyers and the market may experience slower price growth in the upcoming months.
In the first quarter of 2025, the resale volume rose by 2.6 per cent from 6,424 units sold in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 6,590 units in the first quarter of this year. When compared to the first quarter of 2024, the total resale volume declined by 6.8 per cent from 7,068 units.This is the lowest Q1 volume since Q1 2020 when 5,893 units were transacted during the onset of the pandemic.
Despite the lower sales volume compared to the same period last year, the overall performance of resale flats in the first quarter of this year is considered remarkable. The resale market faced intense competition from the primary market, as HDB introduced more than 10,000 new flats during the BTO and SBF sales exercise in February 2025, coinciding with a continued price increase observed in the previous quarter.
The HDB public housing data for the number of approved applications to rent out HDB flats climbed strongly by 12.3 per cent from 8,603 units in Q4 2024 to 9,662 units in Q1 2025. Year-on-year, rental applications rose 2.8 per cent from 9,398 units.
Rental demand usually picks up after the year-end holidays and festive season. Recently, there has been a noticeable rise in foreign students and expats returning to Singapore. This may be attributed to our stable employment outlook and easing of inflationary pressures. Some landlords were also more flexible and open to negotiate rents, given the intense competition for tenants from the private rental market.
Outlook
The macroeconomic landscape is likely to face increased uncertainties due to trade wars stemming from tariff policies enacted by the United States and rising inflation, which could lead to sustained elevated interest rates. Demand for resale flats may hold steady as the market is primarily bolstered by domestic buyers.
The market stability will hinge on several factors, such as job security, household income growth and mortgage rate fluctuations. Moreover, the market will continue to be supported by budget-conscious buyers upgrading within the same HDB sector, as well as private homeowners downsizing to resale flats that offer greater affordability compared to private properties.
However, the mid-term outlook is dependent on how the ongoing trade war might escalate. Amid an atmosphere of heightened caution, many potential buyers may exercise greater restraint to avoid overstretching their budgets.
The conservative approach may continue to slow the pace of price growth in the upcoming months. Therefore, sellers of premium flats may face limited upside, and they may need to adjust their price expectations to remain competitive in a cautious market.