Private home sales drop as HDB resale volume
Singapore's private residential sales volume fell 30% in Q3 2026 to 4,296 transactions, while HDB resale volume surged 17.7% to 7,528 units following the
Private home sales volume dropped sharply in the third quarter of 2026. Transaction volume fell 30 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 4,296 deals as of mid-September. This followed 6,148 transactions in the second quarter. The private residential property price index, however, rose by 1.4 per cent in Q3 2026.
Only 1,068 new private homes were transacted as of September 20. Secondary market deals accounted for around 3,109 transactions. Year-to-date private home transaction volume in 2026 was 15,857, a drop of nearly 20 per cent from the 19,793 recorded in the same period of 2025.
HDB resale market surges with new policy impact
The HDB resale market moved in the opposite direction. Transaction volume rose 17.7 per cent in Q3 2026 to 7,528 units. This increase followed the removal of the 15-month wait-out period for private owners purchasing HDB resale flats, which took effect on July 28, 2026. The HDB resale price index fell by 0.2 per cent in the same quarter.
Million-dollar HDB transactions rose 17.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter to around 575 units. Flats sold for over S$1.5 million increased 60 per cent to 24 units. Despite the surge in activity, HDB observed no significant increase in prices or the number of resale flats bought by private residential property owners after the policy change.
Divergent price trends across segments
Price movements varied across different housing segments. The overall private residential price growth for the first nine months of 2026 was 2.8 per cent, slightly above the 2.7 per cent recorded for the same period in 2025.
| Segment | Q3 2026 Price Change | Q2 2026 Price Change |
|---|---|---|
| Landed Properties | +2.8% | +2.5% |
| Non-Landed OCR | +2.2% | -0.1% |
| Non-Landed RCR | +0.2% | -1.2% |
Landed property prices rose 4.9 per cent year-to-date. The median price of new non-landed private homes rose 9.6 per cent to S$2,567 per square foot in Q3. The share of new non-landed homes sold for over S$2.5 million rose from 30.6 per cent to 44.6 per cent.
Premium flat demand accelerates after policy shift
Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist of Realion Group, noted that cash-rich private homeowners are increasingly purchasing large resale flats. She said demand and prices for larger flats are expected to be boosted. Sun expects the number of million-dollar resale flat transactions to grow further.
She stated this expected increase in premium flat transactions is unlikely to cause a spike in overall resale prices. Million-dollar deals still account for a small market share, she said, and any price surge will likely be contained within this segment.
Supply pipeline and market caution
Future supply is set to increase. The Urban Redevelopment Authority will launch 4,745 private residential units under the confirmed list in the second half of 2026. The full-year confirmed private housing supply will be 9,320 units, which is more than 50 per cent above the annual average over the past decade.
HDB will launch about 7,960 flats in a November 2026 Build-To-Order exercise in towns including Bedok, Geylang, and Toa Payoh. Community care apartments will be offered in Toa Payoh. About 13,484 HDB flats are expected to reach their Minimum Occupation Period in 2026, with another 18,939 following in 2027.
HDB and URA cautioned that the macroeconomic outlook remains highly uncertain. The agencies advised households to exercise prudence when purchasing property and taking out mortgage loans. The expectation is that premium flat transactions will continue growing without triggering broader resale price spikes.
