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THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale market remained on its growth trajectory in terms of both prices and volumes for May, after rebounding in the previous month to snap two months of decline.

Based on flash estimates from SRX and 99.co released on Wednesday (Jun 5), resale prices grew 0.3 per cent month on month.

A 1.1 per cent increase in non-mature estate resale prices from the previous month was offset in part by a 0.3 per cent drop in prices for mature estates.

Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Singapore, noted a shortage in inventory for flats in mature estates, which are “highly sought after”.

With prices having gone up there, “we noticed some buyers turning to non-mature estates that are well supported by amenities, schools and transport hubs. Sixty-eight per cent of five-room or larger flats were transacted in non-mature estates,” observed Lim.

In terms of room types, prices for both three-room and four-room flats grew by 0.1 per cent, while five-room prices surged by 1.6 per cent. Executive prices registered a 1.1 per cent drop from April 2024 levels.

Year on year (yoy), the overall price increase was 6 per cent as both mature and non-mature estate prices grew by 4.8 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively.

Prices for all room types rose across the board from May 2023 levels, led by five-roomers with a 6.7 per cent yoy increase. This was followed by four-room flats, for which prices grew by 6.4 per cent on the year, three-room units by 5.3 per cent, and executive flats by 3.9 per cent.

A total of 2,513 HDB resale flats changed hands in May 2024, representing a 5.3 per cent increase from the prior month, and 11.2 per cent higher than in May 2023.

In the month under review, most or 43.1 per cent of volumes came from four-room unit transactions, followed by three-roomers (26.9 per cent), five-room HDB units (22.8 per cent) and executive flats (7.2 per cent).

More than half, or 59.1 per cent, of the resale volume for the month came from non-mature estates, with the remaining 40.9 per cent from mature estates.

PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said she expects demand for resale flats to remain “relatively stable”, as former private homeowners return to the resale market after serving the 15-month wait-out period.

In her view, this trend would also be supported by buyers with “more pressing house needs opting for resale flats, as well as those who may prefer a more central and attractive location, but do not wish to be subjected to the tighter conditions of Plus and Prime flats”.

Mark Yip, chief executive of Huttons, however, believes June may see slightly lower transactions due to the school holidays and upcoming Build-To-Order launches.

He expects HDB resale volumes to be between 26,000 and 28,000 flats for the whole of 2024, with prices ending the year with a more than 5 per cent growth to exceed the 4.9 per cent increase registered in 2023.

There were 74 resale flats sold for at least S$1 million in May 2024, up from 64 of such units transacted in the previous month, and comprising 2.9 per cent of total resale volumes.

The highest transacted price for a resale flat was achieved by a five-room flat in Cantonment Road which went for nearly S$1.52 million.

Market watchers have identified this as a unit at The Pinnacle@Duxton, located on the 37th to 39th floors and with a remaining lease of more than 85 years.

Huttons’ Yip also highlighted the transaction value as “an all-time high” for the development.

Within non-mature estates, an executive apartment in Hougang Avenue 6 registered the top resale transaction value at S$1.11 million.

Notably, Kallang Whampoa recorded the most million-dollar resale flat transactions for the month, with 13 units sold. This was closely followed by Bukit Merah (12 units) and Toa Payoh (eight units).