logo
Singapore's HDB resale flat price growth continues to slow at 1.6% in Q1 2025

Singapore's HDB resale flat price growth continues to slow at 1.6% in Q1 2025

SINGAPORE: HDB resale flat prices in Singapore rose by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), slowing for the second straight quarter from the 2.6% growth in Q4 2024 and below the 1.8% quarterly increase recorded in Q4 2023, Singapore Business Review reported, citing the latest report by OrangeTee & Tie.
The report showed that while prices continued to climb for the 20th quarter in a row, the pace of growth has slowed down. Analysts pointed to a growing price resistance among buyers, especially among those mid-tier and lower-end segments.
The price growth was particularly slower for 4-room and 5-room flats, which recorded quarter-on-quarter increases of 1.9% and 2.1%, respectively, both below previous levels. Two-room flats also saw a dip, with a 1.5% rise, down from 2.3% in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, 3-room flats saw a slight increase of 2.2%, while executive flats experienced a modest rise of 1.4%, up from 0.1% in the previous quarter.
Across the island, fewer towns posted price increases. Only 19 towns saw price growth, down from 20 previously, while the number of towns with falling prices went up to seven. The Central Area led the declines, with a sharp 18.5% drop, followed by Geylang at 7%.
In terms of transactions, 6,590 resale flats were sold in the first three months of 2025. This was a 2.6% rise from Q4 2024, but year-on-year, sales fell by 6.8%—the lowest first-quarter performance since the pandemic hit in Q1 2020.
The report attributed softer demand partly to heightened competition from newly launched Build-To-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF). Over 10,000 new flats were released under these exercises in February alone.
Still, demand for premium resale unit flats remains strong, with a record 348 million-dollar flats sold in Q1 2025, up from just 285 in Q4 2024. The most expensive flat sold was a DBSS unit in Toa Payoh Lorong 1A that went for S$1.6 million.
The number of flats sold for S$800,000 or more also increased to 1,183 units, with Tampines, Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah, Kallang/Whampoa, and Queenstown being the top areas for high-value transactions, which analysts said are likely driven by cash-rich private property owners looking to downgrade.
Looking ahead, OrangeTee forecasts resale price growth of 4% to 6% and sales volume between 25,000 and 27,000 units for the year, a decline from 2024's total of 28,986 transactions. /TISG
Read also: First Mount Pleasant BTO project to go on sale in October as part of 19,600 new flats
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Should I stay in my government job, or should I look for a new one?
Should I stay in my government job, or should I look for a new one?

Independent Singapore

time2 hours ago

  • Independent Singapore

Should I stay in my government job, or should I look for a new one?

SINGAPORE: A young Singaporean sought career advice online, writing that they've been working in a government role for the past three years but now wonder if it's time to move on to the next job. In a post on r/askSingapore on Thursday (June 5), u/chicky-mcnuggys wrote that they're now 26 years old and have been at the job since graduating. 'First ranking was ungraded, second and latest grades were C+. My ex-boss, with whom I had good relations, was pushing for me to get a B and had given me multiple stretch assignments, but someone else instead got the B because she was 'due' for promotion. Before my ex-boss left, she gave me additional assignments to justify a better grade for the next ranking, and I've completed them, with good reviews from Senior Management,' the post author wrote. They added that they hoped to get a rating of B in the next two years, which would qualify them for a promotion. See also How businesses can leverage their perks via skill swapping The problem appears to be their new boss, who seems less than generous with rankings. 'Let's just say that hope is out the window because s/he had no good feedback at all for me,' they wrote. While their supervisor disagrees with the feedback the new boss gave, in the end, what the boss says carries the most weight. This is causing the post author to worry that the next time they could be promoted would be in three or four years, and by then, they will be between 29 and 30 years old. 'Which is quite slow, no?… Is this normal, or should I just look elsewhere?' they asked, adding that they're due for rotation soon, which means they'll need to start again in a new division. 'I feel like I'm putting in 101% effort, but it sucks knowing it goes unacknowledged especially since I had to do way more than I'm expected to (since I was given stretch assignments),' they added, asking for advice as to whether or not they should keep their job, given the current job market. Commenters were sympathetic toward the post author, with many becoming upset on their behalf over someone else being due for promotion getting the 'B' rating instead of the post author. One advised them to manage their expectation about promotions. 'Title promotion can be fast, like with a senior/lead tagged to your current title. Usually comes with a little pay bump. Grade promotion is the one that takes longer. This one got a considerable bump in pay and usually takes three to four years from starting the position…unless you are chosen by heaven.' 'I always say, want to climb fast and high, go private sector to chiong, but also risk getting sacked for no reason. Gov't is slow and steady (unless you're a scholar) but (confirmed) will have a job through hell and back,' opined another. Others reassured her that for their age, their career progression is normal and that they shouldn't worry about it too much. See also Top 10 predictions for China cross-border e-commerce in 2019 'Gov't job good. Think thrice and understand private sector risks. Have a good financial plan for your career before any move,' urged a Reddit user. /TISG Read also: 'Just get your foot in the door,' Singaporeans tell new grad who's worried their starting salary isn't so high

About 300 employees laid off by China-linked Singapore firm facing US sanctions over Iranian oil shipments
About 300 employees laid off by China-linked Singapore firm facing US sanctions over Iranian oil shipments

CNA

time4 hours ago

  • CNA

About 300 employees laid off by China-linked Singapore firm facing US sanctions over Iranian oil shipments

SINGAPORE: A China-linked, Singapore-based firm has laid off hundreds of employees and is going into liquidation after it was slapped with sanctions by the United States last month. CCIC Singapore was among 15 companies blacklisted by the US on May 13 for helping to conceal the origins of Iranian oil being shipped to China. The cargo inspection firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Certification & Inspection Group (CCIC), a Chinese state-owned enterprise headquartered in Beijing. Speaking to CNA on Friday (Jun 6), three affected employees said that staff across all departments of CCIC Singapore were notified of their retrenchments on May 30, and the terminations took effect the next day. Two of the employees said CCIC Singapore has over 400 workers in Singapore and Malaysia, with the majority based in Singapore. A third employee said the firm has more than 300 workers in Singapore alone. The employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company had delayed the payment of salaries owed for May. Retrenchment notices attributed this to the firm's "pending liquidation". They also took issue with the severance pay of two weeks' salary for every year of service completed, especially for surveyors who rely on overtime pay and allowances to supplement their basic salaries. Junior surveyors earn less than S$1,000 in basic salary a month, while more senior surveyors may earn between S$1,000 and S$1,500, two of the employees said. According to the employees, CCIC Singapore is not unionised. Individual workers have reached out to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) for assistance. CNA has contacted CCIC Singapore, its parent company CCIC, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and NTUC for comment. US SANCTIONS CCIC Singapore was set up in 1989 and has its registered address at Singapore Science Park. Its customers include Shell, BP, Total, Exxon Mobil and major Chinese petrochemical corporations, according to CCIC's website. Parent company CCIC was established in 1980 and is part of China's State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. The US blacklisted CCIC Singapore for helping to obscure the origins of Iranian oil, which is typically done through numerous ship-to-ship transfers, oil blending and false documentation. Sepehr Energy, which is a front company of Iran's military, "consistently relied" on CCIC Singapore for cargo inspections of oil being delivered to China, according to the US Treasury Department. In 2024, CCIC Singapore provided inspection services during a ship-to-ship transfer of about 2 million barrels of Iranian oil from a sanctioned vessel. That same year, the firm also "likely provided" falsified documents to conceal the identity of another sanctioned vessel and certify its cargo of Iranian oil as Malaysian crude. According to the US Treasury Department, Iran's illicit oil trade funds the development of ballistic missiles and drones as well as regional terrorist groups. The sanctions freeze all US-linked assets of the blacklisted companies and individuals. Any company that is at least half-owned by those sanctioned is also blocked from transactions engaging US businesses or the US financial system. ANGER AMONG EMPLOYEES Two of the affected employees denied knowledge of the activities for which the US sanctioned CCIC Singapore, saying that their departments were not involved. Both employees told CNA they only learnt their firm had been blacklisted when customers started cancelling job orders on May 13, citing the sanctions. The severity of the sanctions did not sink in at first, they said. Over time, their concern over the blacklisting morphed into anger at how the management was communicating with employees. They criticised the firm's "flip-flop" on the impact of the sanctions, and what they called a lack of responsibility and transparency from CCIC Singapore's managing director. "If you really treasure or appreciate ... our efforts (that) we have put into this company, I think probably he has to come and thank us, or say sorry, this type of unfortunate thing happened," said one of the employees. But there was no such expression of apology or regret, he said, adding that before Friday, the company also did not give affected employees any support for job placement or career guidance. "This is a foreign company. They act like high and mighty, they leave us in the lurch, just like that. And I'm very mad because the top man doesn't even see us, talk to us," said the employee. While the company's US-linked assets have been frozen, the employees questioned why its assets in Singapore, including property and equipment, could not be used to pay salaries and retrenchment benefits. They also questioned why the parent company was not helping to ensure that employees were paid. "When your children are in trouble, rightfully, the parents should rescue them, right? Why aren't the HQ rescuing us?" the employee asked. INTERNAL EMAILS The employees showed CNA their retrenchment notices as well as internal company emails, which mark a timeline of how the impact of the sanctions played out for employees. On May 14, CCIC Singapore employees received an email from a human resources (HR) officer acknowledging concerns over the sanctions. The email stated that the company's headquarters was "fully committed to supporting our operations" and it had engaged legal counsel to appeal against the sanctions. "In response to the situation, a new company - fully backed by our HQ - will be established within this month," stated the email. "All employees will be smoothly transferred to the new entity, and operations will continue as usual. There will be no disruption to your roles, responsibilities, or employment terms." However, a day later, employees received another email from the HR department asking them to "disregard" the email from the day before. It made reference to an "internal restructuring initiative" but continued to assure employees that they would receive their salaries and claims as usual. On May 16, heads of department were asked to identify key staff members in preparation for a downsizing exercise. They were also informed that CCIC Singapore was "not in a position" to pay retrenchment benefits as its bank accounts had been frozen. A week later, a company-wide email said that salaries would also be delayed due to the freezing of accounts, and that the firm's managing director was going to Beijing for "high-level discussions". Employees received their retrenchment notices on May 30. These notices stated that the company was going into liquidation and retrenchment benefits would only be fully paid after that process was complete, with an estimated date of Jun 30, 2026.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store