HDB Resale Prices Have Fallen For Two Straight Quarters — Here’s One Buyer Trend That Helps Explain Why

Although HDB resale prices slipped by a marginal 0.3% in the second quarter of this year, it is the fall in the total number of resale transactions that stood out. There was a nearly 10% decrease in the total number of resale transactions in 2Q2026 compared to a year ago.

A notable drop in the number of young buyers in the HDB resale market was one of the reasons cited in a market report by Realion (OrangeTee & ETC), which was published on July 6. Christine Sun, chief researcher & strategist, points out that the HDB resale market is highly influenced by domestic economic factors like employment and income growth.

So, even though data from the Ministry of Manpower shows that the overall labour market conditions stayed resilient, total employment growth slowed and retrenchments rose in the first quarter of this year. Sun adds that the dimmer job market and hiring outlook may have prompted buyers to exercise greater caution, resulting in fewer transactions and price falls.

Moreover, the launch of the June 2026 Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise likely pulled away most young buyers from the resale market, with several popular projects in Bukit Merah and Bishan significantly oversubscribed.

The appeal of new BTO developments, including some with shorter waiting times of three years, means that fewer resale flats – especially the ones which are less than 10 years old – have been changing hands over the past three months.

In 2Q2026, the number of relatively new resale flats (less than 10 years old) dipped 21.8% y-o-y to 1,222 units transacted, down from the 1,563 units that were transacted during the same time last year.

This is also lower than the proportion of newer resale flats that were sold in 2Q2024 (1,840 units), 2Q2023 (1,767 units), and 2Q2022 (1,780 units) – hitting a six-year low. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the proportion of newer resale HDB flats changing hands hit a dismal 836 transactions in 2Q2020.

Overall, the proportion of HDB resale transactions involving younger flats has also nose-dived, from 28.2% of all resale deals in 2Q2023 to just 19.7% last quarter.

And it’s no wonder that a growing number of young homeowners are turning away from resale alternatives. The average price of younger flats has shot up by 21.2% over the last three years from $619,970 in 2Q2023 to $751,361 in 2Q2026.

By comparison, island-wide average HDB resale prices only increased 15.3%, while the price of flats that are more than 10 years old – but less than 20 years old – rose by 8.8% over the same period.

For a first-time home buyer, the BTO alternatives include options like $534,000 for a four-room flat at Lakeview Cascadia in Bishan, as well as something further afield like $302,000 for a four-room flat in Sembawang, excluding housing grants.

The June 2026 BTO sales exercise saw seven new projects comprising 6,952 flats across five different towns in Bishan, Bukit Merah, Ang Mo Kio, Sembawang and Woodlands.

Given the strong locational attributes and capital appreciation potential, buyers continued to show interest in Bukit Merah despite higher prices compared to other projects and as high as 14% clawback rates for the Prime flats.

Realion noted that demand for Bukit Merah BTO flats (Berlayar Rise) attracted the highest application rates. Over 4,900 applicants are vying for the 988 four-room flats in that BTO development, while its 3-room and bigger flats drew the most number of applicants in the sales exercise at over 5,900 submissions.

Based on ERA data, comparable resale flats nearby are priced between $938,888 to $1.068 million, or about 59% to 80% higher than the starting price of $592,000 at Berlayar Rise before grants. With resale flat options remaining limited, the alternative of purchasing a private condominium would easily cost above $2 million in this area.

However, despite the overall HDB resale price slipping 0.3% q-o-q in 2Q2026, price trends varied across different unit types.

For example, executive flats notched the highest quarterly price gain of 1.4%. But overall, most flat types recorded marginal gains: three-room flats (0.1%), four-room flats (0.5%), and five-room flats (0.3%). Only two-room flats saw a quarterly price decline of 0.3%.

Across Singapore, 16 towns registered quarterly price declines, which outnumbered the 10 other towns that recorded price increases. But even then, a majority of the towns that posted gains registered price growth of less than 5%.

The most significant price declines was seen in Serangoon (-7.9%), Marine Parade (-7.6%), Geylang (-6.9%), Ang Mo Kio (-5.1%), Sembawang (-3.3%) and Yishun (-2.7%).

On the other hand, the towns that saw the most significant price gains were the Central Area (19.7%), Clementi (4.5%), Jurong East (4%), Queenstown (4%) and Woodlands (3%).

In the Central region, the top two towns are Queenstown and the Central Area (CTA).

For three-room flats, Queenstown saw the highest average resale selling price of $566,941, followed by $552,627 in the Central Area

For four-room flats, the highest average resale selling price was in the Central Area at $1,160,407 followed by $1,005,869 at Queenstown.

For five-room flats, the Central Area saw the highest average resale selling price at $1,329,167, followed by $1,224,491 in Queenstown.

In the East, the top two towns are Pasir Ris and Tampines.

Pasir Ris saw the highest average resale selling price for three-room flats at $614,250, followed by Tampines at $496,163

Tampines saw the highest average resale selling price for four-room flats at $690,319, followed by Bedok at $673,888

Bedok saw the highest average resale selling price for five-room flats at $859,164, followed by Tampines at $837,651

In the North, the top two towns are Sembawang and Yishun.

Sembawang saw the highest average resale selling price for three-room flats at $521,817, followed by Yishun at $436,604

Sembawang also saw the highest average resale selling price for four-room flats at $611,577, followed by Woodlands at $554,473

Yishun saw the highest average resale selling price for five-room flats at $696,284 followed by Woodlands at $665,335

In the West, the top two towns are Clementi and Bukit Batok.

Clementi saw the highest average resale selling price for three-room flats at $475,822 followed by Bukit Panjang at $454,579

Clementi also saw the highest average resale selling price for four-room flats at $841,420, followed by Bukit Batok at $626,496

The highest average resale selling price for five-room flats was at Clementi at $1,193,538, followed by Bukit Batok at $799,699.

In the North-East, the top two towns are Ang Mo Kio and Serangoon.

Punggol saw the highest average resale selling price for three-room flats at $544,642, followed by Sengkang at $539,723

Ang Mo Kio saw the highest average resale selling price for four-room flats at $741,440, followed by Serangoon at $678,802

Ang Mo Kio saw the highest average resale selling price for five-room flats at $996,522, followed by Serangoon at $852,272

Meanwhile, million-dollar HDB sales continue to dominate the top-end of the resale market. There were 491 million-dollar flats sold in 2Q2026, which is an increase compared to the 411 million-dollar flats that changed hands in the first three months of this year. A five-room flat at SkyTerrace @ Dawson was the most expensive resale unit sold last quarter.

In addition, as the record HDB resale price continues to creep higher, we need to raise the bar and take a look at flats sold for over $1.5 million.

In this category, 31 transactions were recorded in the first half of 2026. The Central Area (Cantonment Road – Pinnacle @ Duxton) accounted for the highest number of these transactions (nine units), followed by Bukit Merah and Toa Payoh (five units each).

Other towns with multiple transactions over $1.5 million included Clementi and Queenstown (four units each) and Bishan (three units).

Looking ahead, as more buyers pivot away from pricey new resale flats in mature estates toward more affordable BTO or older resale flats, this flight towards more affordable housing options will continue to impact the HDB resale market.

Another factor which will slow down resale price growth is the fact that fewer buyers will be willing to pay out of pocket for high Cash-Over-Valuation (COV). Deals will also take longer to close as consumers take time to compare options.