SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Desmond Lee said in Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 5) that the Housing Board resale market will begin to stabilise over the next few years. This is due to a larger supply of this type of flat and cooling measures continuing to kick in, he added.

“Supply tightness should start to recover next year,” The Straits Times quoted the minister.

During the debate on the Ministry of National Development’s budget, Mr Lee answered questions from Members of Parliament Pritam Singh (WP-Aljnuied GRC) and Xie Yao Quan (PAP-Jurong GRC) about high resale prices in connection with the Government’s aim of keeping public housing affordable.

Mr Lee provided some context to the high prices of resale flats, saying that this is partly because of delayed construction and the resulting uptick in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As early as next year, however, the number of new flats that reach their minimum occupation period, the amount of time a homeowner is required to live in their unit until they are allowed to sell it, will jump to 13,500 from 8,000 this year.

This number will continue to rise and reach 19,500 by 2028, added Mr Lee.

In February, HDB resale prices rose by nearly 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY), according to data from SRX and 99.co, marking a continued upward trend in the public housing market despite a decline in transaction volume. This followed a 1 per cent rise in January. ST also cited a Feb 11 report from OrangeTee Group predicting that prices would have gone up for 23 consecutive quarters by the end of this year.

According to OrangeTee’s HDB Resale Market Outlook in January, the HDB resale market is expected to see moderate price growth this year. Prices are likely to rise by 4 to 6 per cent, down from the projected 7.5 to 8.5 per cent increase in 2024, the property firm said.

Read related: HDB resale prices to moderately rise by 4% to 6% in 2025 as supply falls to an anticipated 11-year low

On the supply side, the Housing & Development Board said early in February that a total of 5,032 BTO flats are being offered in five projects at Kallang/ Whampoa, Queenstown, Yishun, and Woodlands, with eight out of 10 flats having waiting times of four years or less.

Among them, 1,531 flats at Chencharu Vines and Chencharu Green have an even shorter waiting time of 37 and 38 months, respectively, meaning buyers would need to wait just over three years. /TISG

Read also: Housing & Development Board resale prices climbed by almost 10% YoY in February