Home is where the heart is, but cost is still a major consideration when purchasing one in Singapore.
Singaporeans have two main types of housing to choose from — public housing, most commonly referred to as Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, and private property. Most condos and landed houses are forms of private property.
77.8% of Singapore residents live in HDB flats, 17.2% live in condos, and 4.8% live in landed properties.
As the cost of living continues to soar on the back of inflationary pressure, property prices are on the rise, too.
In the first half of 2024, 419 HDB flats were already resold for over $1 million, and it’s likely to be another record-breaking year. When it comes to private housing, only the cheapest condos are priced at under $1 million.
Let’s have a look at how much it costs to purchase a home in Singapore.
Note: All figures are in Singapore dollars (SGD).
Average and Median Price of Housing in Singapore (2024)
Here are the average and median prices of HDB flats, private condos and private landed houses in Singapore. Average sizes and average prices per square foot (PSF)/per square metre (PSM) are also included.
The above table clearly illustrates the disparity between HDB flat prices on the one hand and private property prices on the other. The average per square foot price of condos ($1,880.78) is 3.2 times higher than that of HDB flats ($582.04), with that of landed homes being 3 times higher.
A comparison between median and average prices also indicates that a buyer would have to fork out much more for private property than an HDB flat. HDB flats cost an average of $597,297, with the median price being $575,000. This is a far cry from the average price of a condo, which at $1,945,523 is 3.2 times higher. Meanwhile, the median price of condos, at $1,700,000, is almost 3 times higher than that of HDB flats.
When it comes to landed houses, the average and median prices look astronomical, at $5,371,943 and $4,200,000 respectively, not only due to a relatively high PSF price but also the larger size of landed houses compared to HDB flats and condos.
Average Price of HDB Resale Flats in Singapore
Based on resale transactions recorded in the first half of 2024, the average and median prices of HDB resale flats were $597,297 and $575,000 respectively.
Here are the average and median prices of HDB flats based on flat type.
There were a total of 13,845 HDB resale transactions recorded in the first half of 2024.
Predictably, the average and median prices increased according to flat size. However, the PSF price was highest for 2-room flats, followed by 4-room flats, the most popular HDB flat type. For the rest of the HDB flat types, the larger the flat, the lower the PSF price.
Median Price of HDB Resale Flats by Towns and Flat Types
Singapore is home to 27 HDB towns and housing estates, including the brand-new neighbourhood Tengah.
Here are the median prices of HDB flats resold in Q2 2024, sorted by HDB town and flat type.
For all flat types, the highest resale prices were commanded by flats in popular mature estates, often close to the city centre. These include Central Area, Bukit Merah, Queenstown and Bishan. Mature estates tend to be more popular with buyers due to their established amenities. They typically enjoy better and more direct transport links to the city centre.
Meanwhile, flats in non-mature estates located far away from the city centre tend to attract the lowest resale prices, some examples being Woodlands and Yishun. In the case of non-mature estates, distance and ease of commuting by public transport to the city centre appear to matter greatly to buyers.
Average Price of Condominiums in Singapore
The average and median prices of condos in Singapore were $1,945,523 and $1,700,000 respectively in the first half of 2024.
Here are the average and median prices of private condominiums by region:
In the first half of 2024, a total of 7,633 transactions involving condos and private apartments were recorded. This figure includes sales of new condos, sub-sales and resales.
Condo buyers exhibit a clear preference for living in or near the city centre, with prices decreasing the further the property is situated from the Core Central Region.
Surprisingly, the average size of condos in the Core Central Region was higher than that of condos in the Rest of Central Region and Outside Central Region, despite the PSF prices of Core Central Region condos being significantly higher than those of condos in other areas. This could be due to the presence of large, ultra-luxe condos which command a premium for their prestige in the Core Central Region.
Average Price of Landed Properties in Singapore
The average and median prices of landed properties in Singapore were $5,371,943 and $4,200,000 respectively in the first half of 2024.
Here are the average and median prices of private landed properties, classified according to region:
There were 821 landed property transactions in the first half of 2024. This figure includes sales of new property, sub-sales and resales.
There is a marked price increase the closer the property is located to the Core Central Region.
In addition, landed property located closer to the Core Central Region tends to be larger, with Core Central Region landed homes being almost 1.5 times larger than those in the Outside Central Region. This indicates a highly marked stratification of affluence according to distance to the city centre, with larger, mega-luxurious houses being clustered in central areas and smaller, more affordable landed homes being located further away.
Property Price Trend in Singapore
In the case of both HDB and private residential property in Singapore, prices rose steeply in the period from 2006 to 2012 before stabilising. Starting in 2020, prices started to climb sharply once again, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
HDB Resale Flats
The COVID-19 pandemic sent HDB prices soaring sharply from Q4 2020 onwards. The rate of increase has since slowed down significantly, particularly in 2023, on the back of a sluggish economy.
Private Residential Properties
The private residential property market tends to be more volatile than the HDB market, but has nonetheless seen a similar upward trend in prices since Q4 2020 on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices have fluctuated, sometimes sharply, from quarter to quarter, but they have trended upwards overall, with the very first decline (-0.2%) in prices since 2020.
In Conclusion
The key factors influencing property prices in Singapore include the HDB-private property distinction, as well as distance from the city centre. It should be noted, however, that some sought-after areas command high prices despite being relatively far away from the city centre, such as mature HDB towns.
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked off a steep increase in resale value which continues to the present day, although 2023 has seen dampened prices due in part to economic uncertainty.
Methodology
All of the data presented in this article is based on transactions made in the first half of 2024. Please note that the data might be affected by rounding errors.
All data concerning HDB resale flats was taken from the HDB website. The data for 3-room HDB flats does not include HDB terrace houses due to the rarity of this flat type. However, all figures referred to as “total” include all flat types.
All data on private residential properties was taken from the URA’s website and includes all new sales, sub-sales and resale transactions. Transactions involving more than one unit are considered outliers and are not reflected in the data. The data includes all transactions involving apartments, but not Executive Condominiums (ECs). For landed property, both non-strata and strata property transactions are reflected in the data.
