Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, opinions expressed below belong to the author. Data comes from the latest official release by HDB.
While much attention is given to average price growth in the public housing market in Singapore, tracked by the Resale Price Index, as ever the situation is considerably more complex on the ground, with significant differences between towns—not only in terms of reported transaction prices, but their pace as well.
As it happens, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has just published the latest data on median resale prices for the last quarter (i.e. Q3 of 2024), allowing us to take a closer look at the cheapest and most expensive areas—as well as how they have evolved over the year.
Disclaimer: Please note that in certain cases the year-on-year change is higher than could be reasonably expected (particularly in Geylang and Clementi), suggesting that the data might be skewed by specific characteristics of the apartments sold at that time or a relatively low number of transactions at unusually high prices.
Median resale prices of HDB apartments in Q3 of 2024
These are the latest prices for transactions registered in Q3. 1R and 2R apartments were excluded for the sake of brevity as few to none were sold across most towns in that period. Lowest and highest prices per type of apartment have been highlighted in green and red respectively.
| Towns | 3-Room | 4-Room | 5-Room | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ang Mo Kio | S$410,000 | S$568,000 | S$920,000 | * |
| Bedok | S$400,000 | S$540,000 | S$738,400 | * |
| Bishan | S$520,000 | S$730,000 | S$989,900 | * |
| Bukit Batok | S$405,000 | S$605,000 | S$770,000 | S$849,000 |
| Bukit Merah | S$412,500 | S$900,000 | * | no sales |
| Bukit Panjang | S$428,000 | S$531,000 | S$661,000 | S$868,900 |
| Bukit Timah | * | * | * | * |
| Central | S$466,000 | S$774,000 | * | no sales |
| Choa Chu Kang | S$441,800 | S$535,000 | S$628,000 | S$807,500 |
| Clementi | S$385,000 | S$745,000 | S$790,000 | * |
| Geylang | S$416,500 | S$884,000 | S$800,000 | * |
| Hougang | S$437,500 | S$599,000 | S$738,900 | S$932,500 |
| Jurong East | S$395,000 | S$510,000 | S$700,000 | * |
| Jurong West | S$378,000 | S$515,000 | S$600,000 | S$755,000 |
| Kallang/Whampoa | S$402,900 | S$908,900 | S$928,000 | * |
| Marine Parade | S$450,000 | * | * | no sales |
| Pasir Ris | * | S$596,000 | S$700,000 | S$865,000 |
| Punggol | $511,400 | S$648,000 | S$725,000 | * |
| Queenstown | $415,500 | S$957,000 | * | no sales |
| Sembawang | $495,000 | S$568,000 | S$620,000 | * |
| Sengkang | $508,000 | S$628,000 | S$680,000 | S$785,400 |
| Serangoon | $449,000 | S$612,500 | S$790,000 | S$985,000 |
| Tampines | $458,000 | S$630,000 | S$730,000 | S$928,000 |
| Toa Payoh | $380,000 | S$850,000 | S$898,000 | * |
| Woodlands | $425,000 | S$530,000 | S$640,000 | S$872,500 |
| Yishun | $420,000 | S$538,000 | S$678,000 | S$859,400 |
As you can see, a 4R flat in Queenstown, Toa Payoh, Kallang or Bukit Merah could afford you a 5R or even an Executive one elsewhere. A small 3R in Bishan could be enough for a 4R or almost a 5R in some towns.
If one thing is clear, however, it’s that the West remains the most affordable, with all of the cheapest HDB apartments in their respective classes reported in Jurong.
Year-on-year change (Q3/2024 vs. Q3/2023)
I thought it would be useful to compare the change in transacted prices over the entire year, to see what the trends show. The Resale Price Index indicates that the annual inflation in public housing stands at around 8%, but in some places, the prices have not only not gone up but even dropped.
However, do bear in mind that any visibly outlying figures—whether low or high—should be treated with caution, as they may be skewed by insufficient data or the specifics of the apartments sold.
| Towns | 3-Room | 4-Room | 5-Room | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ang Mo Kio | 6.49% | 5.58% | 26.81% | x |
| Bedok | 8.11% | 3.25% | 7.95% | x |
| Bishan | x | 2.10% | 6.56% | x |
| Bukit Batok | 5.19% | 1.68% | 1.58% | x |
| Bukit Merah | -6.14% | 4.65% | x | x |
| Bukit Panjang | 7.00% | 4.53% | 7.48% | 12.12% |
| Bukit Timah | x | x | x | x |
| Central | -0.85% | x | x | x |
| Choa Chu Kang | 12.85% | 7.00% | 8.46% | x |
| Clementi | -3.14% | 22.65% | x | x |
| Geylang | 26.21% | 44.92% | 6.67% | x |
| Hougang | 12.18% | 12.49% | 7.09% | 7.43% |
| Jurong East | 3.95% | 7.82% | 12.00% | x |
| Jurong West | 5.00% | 3.00% | 3.45% | 7.86% |
| Kallang/Whampoa | 4.65% | 14.99% | 2.21% | x |
| Marine Parade | x | x | x | x |
| Pasir Ris | x | 7.58% | 6.38% | 3.59% |
| Punggol | 8.81% | 8.00% | 7.01% | x |
| Queenstown | 6.70% | 3.13% | x | x |
| Sembawang | 10.61% | 1.99% | 6.90% | x |
| Sengkang | 9.25% | 12.54% | 7.94% | 6.28% |
| Serangoon | 6.90% | 6.52% | 8.00% | 9.44% |
| Tampines | 9.05% | 10.72% | 7.67% | 8.79% |
| Toa Payoh | 8.57% | 8.97% | -0.22% | x |
| Woodlands | 13.64% | 6.43% | 8.47% | 8.79% |
| Yishun | 9.09% | 7.60% | 4.31% | x |
The best idea is, probably, to look at where the averages between different apartment types were relatively consistent. CCK, Hougang, Punggol, Sengkang, Tampines, and Woodlands all reported figures around or above the national average across the board.
Jurong West, on the other hand, not only is the most affordable but has seen the lowest inflation over the past 12 months (again, when taking all apartment types into consideration).
Other towns should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, looking at the apartment size and its value relative to what’s available elsewhere, while extreme differences should be taken with more than a grain of salt.
3R apartments in Bukit Merah, for example, registered a 6% drop in median transacted prices, while 5R in Toa Payoh stayed almost perfectly flat. 44% and 26% inflation in Geylang’s 4R and 3R flats, on the other hand, is likely a major fluke.
Of course, whether or not these changes are good for you depends on your goal.
Are you buying or selling? Are you looking for an apartment with a higher return potential? Or maybe one where you believe the prices have already topped off for a while and it’s time to sell or buy now? Do you prefer convenience of location or a large floor area?
There appears to be something for everyone on the HDB menu and, despite appearances of being a cookie-cutter system, a similar budget can buy you completely different things in different places.
10,000 new flats coming in February
What may be of interest to new buyers—but perhaps also to those in the resale market, as it may have some influence on it as well—is that HDB announced an unprecedented release of over 10,000 apartments in February of 2025.
By comparison, the entire supply for the 10 months of 2024 stands at a little over 20,000.
In four months, HDB will offer about 5,000 BTO flats in Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Woodlands and Yishun, as well as stage the largest-ever Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, offering more than 5,500 apartments in different towns.
40% of those apartments will be completed units, with the rest slated for completion between 2025 and 2028.
Such an injection of housing can draw more of those eligible for new apartments away from the resale market and tame the inflation a bit although, of course, much will depend on conditions and locations.
Featured Image: Ryan Lau / Unsplash