Hdb Resale Price Growth Slows 09 2Q2025 Amid Record Million Dollar Flat Sales
According to Chief Researcher and Strategist at Realion Group, Christine Sun, HDB resale prices rose by 0.9% in the second quarter of 2025, a slight decrease from the 1.6% increase in the first quarter. This represents the third straight quarter of slowing growth and the slowest quarterly rise since the Covid-19 lockdown in the second quarter of 2020.
Despite this, Sun notes that this increase in prices in the second quarter marks the 21st consecutive quarter of growth, setting a new record for the longest streak ever recorded. It surpasses the previous mark of 20 quarters from the fourth quarter of 1991 to the fourth quarter of 1996.
However, Sun adds that the recent price hikes, while stable, are in stark comparison to the sharp increases seen in the 1990s. From the first quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2025, resale prices have risen by 54.3%, compared to a surge of 294.4% from the final quarter of 1991 to the final quarter of 1996.
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The pace of price growth in the first half of 2025 came in at 2.3%, lower than the 4.2% increase in the same period in 2024 but close to the 2.5% gain in the first half of 2023.
Sun attributes the slower price growth in the second quarter of 2025 to the launch of over 20,000 new flats through the February and July Build-To-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises. “Many of these flats were in prime locations and had shorter completion times,” she says. “Generous grants and deferred income assessments also boosted demand for these new flats.”
The absence of a BTO launch in June – postponed to July to accommodate the high number of applications for the February BTO exercise – may have nudged some buyers towards the resale market, contributing to a short-term increase in transactions, Sun adds.
The decline in resale volume in the first half of 2025
Despite the overall slowdown, resale volume declined on a half-year basis. A total of 13,692 flats were sold in the first half of 2025, representing a 5% drop from the 14,420 units sold in the same period last year. Larger flats were more adversely affected, with five-room and executive flats registering declines of 6.1% and 11.5%, respectively.
This marks the lowest half-year resale volume since the first half of 2023, when 13,493 units were sold.
Despite this, resale volume saw an uptick of 7.8% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, with 7,102 units sold in the second quarter of 2025, supported by tight supply, according to Senior Director of Data Analytics at Huttons Asia, Lee Sze Teck. He attributes the slower pace of price growth to the smaller number of flats reaching their five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) this year.
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“These flats often command a premium, and with the reduced supply, this limits the upward pressure on prices,” he explains.
Since hitting a low point in the second quarter of 2019, HDB resale prices have climbed by 55%, including a gain of 53.8% since the lockdown in April 2020.
Read also: Record-high $1.289 million achieved for executive flat in Yishun
Bukit Timah saw the largest y-o-y price increase in the second quarter of 2025 among all towns
As for specific towns, Bukit Timah saw the largest year-on-year increase in prices in the second quarter of 2025, at 32.4%, followed by the Central Area (7.8%) and Ang Mo Kio (7.2%), according to Huttons.
Below are the top five most popular HDB towns among buyers in the second quarter of 2025:
Source: HDB, Huttons Data Analytics as of 25 Jul 2025
The overall slowdown in the price growth may be directly attributed to buyer resistance to higher prices for larger flats, according to Lee.
Prices of executive and multi-generation flats saw an increase of 4.1% quarter-on-quarter, buoyed by strong demand. A record of 118 of these flats were transacted for at least $1 million in the second quarter of 2025, witnessing a 53.2% rise compared to the previous quarter. According to Lee, these buyers consist mainly of HDB upgraders and former private property owners.
Lee adds that four-room flats – the core of BTO supply – also garnered strong interest. Many of these flats had recently fulfilled their MOP and are located in prime estates such as Bukit Merah, Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, and Toa Payoh.
“Owners often referenced past million-dollar transactions when pricing their units,” he explains.
Prices of four-room flats in the top five HDB towns in the second quarter of 2025 were as follows:
Source: HDB, Huttons Data Analytics as of 25 Jul 2025
A record of 415 resale transactions for at least $1 million each in the second quarter of 2025
In total, a new record of 415 resale HDB flats were sold for at least $1 million in the second quarter of 2025, representing a 19.3% increase over the previous quarter and surpassing the 348 resale transactions recorded in the same period last year.
Mature estates led the way, with Toa Payoh topping the list with 80 transactions, followed by Bukit Merah (56) and Queenstown (49).
In the first half of the year, 763 HDB resale flats were sold for over $1 million, compared to only 1,035 units for the entirety of 2024. Notably, 165 of the million-dollar flats in the second quarter of 2025 were four-room units, up from 148 units in the first quarter of 2025.
Key Executive Officer of ERA Singapore, Eugene Lim, projects that the number of million-dollar transactions for the entire year could surpass 1,300, driven by demand from buyers for newer, well-located flats.
Read also: Older HDB flat prices converge – but larger units in prime estates still command a premium
Despite all this, Lim stresses that “most HDB flats remain affordable”. In the second quarter of 2025, 78% of resale transactions were below $750,000. Out of 24 HDB towns, 18 had median resale prices for four-room flats below this threshold, with exceptions mainly in central or mature estates.
Lim also estimates that only 6,974 HDB flats will reach their MOP this year, which is the lowest in 11 years since 2014, when only 5,301 HDB flats became eligible.
Overall, despite the record-breaking prices, the majority of HDB flats remain affordable, and only a small percentage cross the $1 million mark in price. The ongoing BTO exercise has also served to ease the pressure on the resale market, with newer four-room flats receiving strong interest from buyers.