For aspiring HDB buyers, housing prices seem to be on a perpetual rise for the past two years. For the second consecutive year, the HDB housing market has been on fire. 4Q2022 clocked a record peak of 171.9 on the HDB resale price index, a gain of 2.3% from 3Q2022. Even two rounds of property cooling measures did not seem to make a dent in the fire-hot housing market.
However, there are some signs of slowing transaction volumes as the 6,597 transactions made in 4Q2022 were the lowest for 2022 and an 18% drop compared to the 7,940 transactions made in 4Q2021.
If you are looking to buy an HDB flat in 2023, you can either choose to wait for prices to fall (which they may not) or search for your perfect flat in one of these cheapest HDB estates.
| Towns | 3-Room | 4-Room | 5-Room | Executive |
| Ang Mo Kio | $378,000 | $555,000 | $868,000 | * |
| Bedok | $360,000 | $480,000 | $650,000 | * |
| Bishan | * | $669,400 | $877,500 | * |
| Bukit Batok | $360,000 | $514,000 | $700,000 | * |
| Bukit Merah | $400,000 | $775,400 | $899,000 | – |
| Bukit Panjang | $375,000 | $480,000 | $590,000 | $780,000 |
| Bukit Timah | * | * | * | * |
| Central | $450,000 | * | * | – |
| Choa Chu Kang | $389,500 | $500,000 | $588,000 | $679,000 |
| Clementi | $378,000 | $574,900 | * | * |
| Geylang | $335,000 | $576,500 | $781,500 | * |
| Hougang | $380,000 | $518,000 | $627,500 | $845,900 |
| Jurong East | $360,000 | $465,000 | $643,000 | * |
| Jurong West | $358,000 | $481,500 | $566,000 | $685,000 |
| Kallang/Whampoa | $380,000 | $788,000 | $800,000 | * |
| Marine Parade | $430,000 | * | * | – |
| Pasir Ris | * | $520,000 | $641,000 | $796,000 |
| Punggol | $451,000 | $575,900 | $700,000 | * |
| Queenstown | $390,000 | $870,000 | * | – |
| Sembawang | $432,500 | $535,000 | $579,000 | * |
| Sengkang | $443,400 | $548,000 | $580,000 | $710,000 |
| Serangoon | $386,500 | $539,000 | * | * |
| Tampines | $410,000 | $536,500 | $652,500 | $850,000 |
| Toa Payoh | $340,000 | $780,000 | $865,000 | * |
| Woodlands | $395,000 | $495,000 | $580,000 | $762,500 |
| Yishun | $372,000 | $474,000 | $620,000 | $788,000 |
| Overall | $389,300 | $576,135 | $690,400 | $766,267 |
Source: HDB Resale Statistics. 4Q2022
* median prices are not shown as there are less than 20 resale transactions in the quarter for the particular town and flat type.
– indicates no resale transactions for the quarter.
Read Also: HDB Price Guide: 5 Cheapest HDB Estates For 2022
Top 5 Cheapest HDB Estates For 3-Room Resale Flats
| # | Towns | 3-Room | Change from 2021 |
| 1 | Geylang | $335,000 | (+14%) $293,900 |
| 2 | Toa Payoh | $340,000 | (+10%) $309,000 |
| 3 | Jurong West | $358,000 | (+8%) $330,900 |
| 4 | Bedok | $360,000 | (+9%) $330,000 |
| 5 | Bukit Batok | $360,000 | (+7%) $335,000 |
Bishan, Bukit Timah and Pasir Ris were excluded due to insufficient resale transaction data.
The overall median price for 3-room flats in 2022 was $389,300.
Compared to 2021, the median prices for the cheapest HDB estates for 3-room flats have risen by 7% to 14% with Geylang showing the greatest increase. Prices have also increased to be above $300,000 for all estates, whereas Geylang was still priced below $300,000 last year.
If your dream flat is one that is located in a mature estate with plenty of amenities and good food, consider buying a 3-room resale flat in Geylang, Toa Payoh or Bedok.
While new resale flats in these areas command high prices, majority of the flats in these matures estates are older and command a lower price despite their desirable locations and proximity to established amenities. Geylang remains the cheapest HDB estate for 3-room flats at $335,000, followed by Toa Payoh at $340,000.
For those who prefer the east, Bedok remains a relatively affordable option at $360,000. If you prefer the west, consider the 3-room flats in the Jurong West and Bukit Batok which have the median prices of $358,000 and $360,000 respectively.
Top 5 Cheapest HDB Estates For 4-Room Resale Flats
| # | Towns | 4-Room | Change from 2021 |
| 1 | Jurong East | $465,000 | (+3%) $450,000 |
| 2 | Yishun | $474,000 | (+5%) $450,000 |
| 3 | Bedok | $480,000 | (+5%) $455,900 |
| 4 | Bukit Panjang | $480,000 | (+4%) $460,000 |
| 5 | Jurong West | $481,500 | (+5%) $457,000 |
Bukit Timah, Central and Marine Parade were excluded due to insufficient resale transaction data.
The overall median price for 4-room resale flats is $576,135. This is a difference of almost $100,000 between the prices of the cheapest estates and the average median prices. Compared to 2021, the median prices have increased between 3% to 5%.
The popularity and ubiquity of 4-room flats unfortunately mean that most of the cheapest HDB estates are non-mature estates, with the exception of Bedok which is classified as a mature estate. Nonetheless, potential 4-room resale flat buyers looking for a more affordable estate still have a choice of locations.
West-side offers the most bargains with Jurong East, Bukit Panjang and Jurong West being the cheapest estates with median prices of $465,000 to $481,500, well below the average of $576,135. Other HDB estates to consider include Yishun in the north and Bedok in the east, at $474,000 and $480,000 respectively.
Read Also: Neighbourhood Estate Guide: Is Yishun Simply Misunderstood?
Top 5 Cheapest HDB Estates For 5-Room Resale Flats
| # | Towns | 5-Room | Change from 2021 |
| 1 | Jurong West | $566,000 | (+7%) $530,000 |
| 2 | Sembawang | $579,000 | (+15%) $501,500 |
| 3 | Woodlands | $580,000 | (+15%) $505,000 |
| 4 | Sengkang | $580,000 | (+7%) $540,500 |
| 5 | Choa Chu Kang | $588,000 | (+6%) $552,500 |
Bukit Timah, Central, Clementi, Marine Parade, Queenstown and Serangoon were excluded due to insufficient resale transaction data.
The overall median price for 5-room resale flats is $690,400. This is a difference of more than $150,000 between the price of the cheapest estate and the average median prices. Compared to 2021, the median prices have increased between 6% to 15%.
For 5-room resale flats, the top 5 cheapest estates are all non-mature estates: Jurong West, Sembawang, Woodlands, Sengkang and Choa Chua Kang. These are the same estates that topped that cheapest list last year, though the order has shifted slightly as Sembawang and Woodlands increased the most at 15%.
Top 5 Cheapest HDB Estates For Executive Resale Flats
| # | Towns | Executive | Change from 2021 |
| 1 | Choa Chu Kang | $679,000 | (+5%) $647,500 |
| 2 | Jurong West | $685,000 | (+9%) $631,000 |
| 3 | Sengkang | $710,000 | (+11%) $638,000 |
| 4 | Woodlands | $762,500 | (+9%) $701,000 |
| 5 | Bukit Panjang | $780,000 | (+9%) $718,000 |
Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Batok, Bukit Timah, Bukit Merah, Central, Clementi, Geylang, Jurong East, Kallang/ Whampoa, Marine Parade, Punggol, Queenstown, Sembawang, Serangoon and Toa Payoh were excluded due to insufficient resale transaction data.
The overall median price for executive resale flats is $766,267. This is a difference of about $87,000 between the price of the cheapest estate and the average median prices. Compared to 2021, the median prices have increased between 5% to 11%. In total, only 9 estates had recently transacted prices for executive resale flats.
Due to the relative scarcity of executive flats compared to other flat types, it is much hard for potential HDB buyers to find a suitable executive flat. Most of the estates on this list have increased by about 10% in median prices, only Choa Chu Kang increased by 5%.
Even The Cheapest Estates Have Increased By 3% to 15%
For aspiring HDB buyers taking the plunge into the resale market can feel like chasing a runaway train with prices increasing every quarter. However, if you choose wisely, there are still estates where prices have not surged as much.
4-room resale flats have remained the most stable with the cheapest estates only increasing by 3% to 5%. In contrast, 3-room and 5-room flat types have seen some of the strongest price growth of 14% to 15% amongst the cheapest estates.
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