Condo resale prices rise for 22nd straight month in May, more units sold

Prices of resale condominium units edged up for the 22nd straight month in May, with transactions rising as buying sentiment improved despite property cooling measures. In May, condominium resale prices rose 0.3 per cent, lower compared with April’s 0.7 per cent, according to flash figures from real estate portals 99.co and SRX released on Tuesday (June 14).

Compared with May last year, prices were up by 8.4 per cent, data showed. In May, prices of condominiums in the city fringes went up by 0.7 per cent and those in the suburbs rose by 0.5 per cent, while those in the core central region fell by 1.2 per cent.

Huttons Asia chief executive Mark Yip said the successful launches of two projects in the city fringes – Piccadilly Grand in Farrer Park and LIV@MB in East Coast – resulted in demand spilling over to the resale market last month, which supported the rise in prices. Meanwhile, resale volume climbed by 1.6 per cent, with an estimated 1,572 units changing hands in May, up from 1,547 units in April.

Resale transactions declined by 11 per cent compared with May last year, but were still 40.2 per cent higher than the five-year average for the month of May. This could indicate the resale market is on its road to recovery, five months after property cooling measures were introduced last December, analysts said.

In December, the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) rates were raised from 12 per cent to 17 per cent for citizens buying their second residential property, and from 15 per cent to 25 per cent for those buying their third and subsequent ones.

For foreigners buying any residential property, the ABSD is 30 per cent, up from 20 per cent. Resale volume has been rising since March with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, rebounding from the six-month decline starting last September.

The strong buying sentiment in the condominium resale market was reflected in the new sale market last month, noted OrangeTee & Tie senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun.

“This indicates that buying sentiment has generally improved across the different housing segments and may pick up further in the coming months,” she said.

“Growing macroeconomic uncertainty may also spur more investors to park their money in safe-haven assets like properties,” she added.

PropNex Realty head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said some of the firm’s real estate agents noted that the supply of resale condominium stock has been tight as some owners choose to hold on to their properties.

“With the hefty additional buyer’s stamp duty, some owners who have purchased multiple residential properties prior to the cooling measures may be unwilling to sell now,” she said, adding that the strong home rental market could also be a reason.