Debated in Parliament on 28 Feb 2024.
Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry will consider assessing the effectiveness of cooling measures implemented to address concerns about million-dollar and high-value resale HDB flats, particularly the extended waiting period for private property downgraders; and (b) whether this measure has influenced the quantity of million-dollar or high-value resale transactions and, if so, to what extent.
Since 30 September 2022, current and former private property owners (PPOs/ex-PPOs) must wait out 15 months from the disposal of their private property before they may buy a non-subsidised resale flat. This measure was introduced to moderate the demand for resale flats and ensure that they remain affordable, especially for first-timers. To support seniors' retirement needs, Singapore citizens and their spouses aged 55 and above who are right-sizing from their private property to a 4-room or smaller resale HDB flat are exempted from the wait-out period.
Following the ramp-up in BTO flat supply and implementation of three rounds of cooling measures, the rate of increase in resale prices has continued to moderate. HDB's quarterly Resale Price Index (RPI) increased by 1.1% in 4Q2023. This is slower than the average quarterly increase of 2.5% in 2022. For the whole year of 2023, resale prices rose by 4.9%, less than half of the 10.4% increase in 2022.
Prior to the implementation of the 15-month wait-out period, PPOs/ex-PPOs constituted about 34% of buyers of flats sold for a million dollars or more, between 1 January and 29 September 2022. Since the wait-out was implemented, this proportion has fallen by more than half to about 14%, between 30 September 2022 and 31 December 2023.
The Government will continue to keep a close eye on the resale market, with a view towards keeping public housing affordable and accessible for Singaporeans.
PAPERCUTS