Does Being In An Opposition GRC Affect HDB Resale Prices in Sengkang GRC?

The electoral boundaries have been redrawn, and the news consistently reminds us that the general elections are imminent. 5 years ago, in the 2020 Singapore general election, the ruling People’s Action Party won 83 seats in Parliament, while the Workers’ Party won the remaining 10 seats. These 10 seats were from retaining the 5-seat Aljunied Group Representative Constituency (GRC) and Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC), as well as the newly created 4-seat Sengkang GRC.

In Singapore, the responsibilities of elected members of Parliament include estate management by chairing a town council within their elected constituency. Town councils generally oversee the maintenance of residential and commercial properties within HDB estates. With two GRCs won by an opposition party for the first time since the introduction of the GRC scheme in 1988, it is an opportune time to analyse whether being run by members of the opposition party affects the quality of the housing estate. 

One method of doing so is looking at how the value of HDB resale prices in the town have changed over the years.

Read Also: How Closely Do The GE2025 Electoral Boundaries Mirror Singapore’s Postal District Map

How Have HDB Resale Prices Changed Between 2015 and 2024?

The HDB Resale Price Index tracks overall price movement of HDB flats across towns and flat types. Across the board, HDB resale flat prices started rising at the end of 2020.

Read Also: HDB Price Guide: 5 Cheapest HDB Estates For 2025

How Have HDB Resale Prices Changed In Sengkang GRC?

Sengkang is a relatively new town that has seen steady growth over the past 25 years since the first HDB flats were built in 1997. In 2015, it crossed 200,000 residents and as of June last year, has 265,060 residents.

Each quarter, HDB provides the statistics for median resale prices by town and flat type. For certain quarters between 2015 and 2018, there were less than 20 resale transactions in that quarter for 3-room flats in Sengkang town, hence there is no median price provided. 

Let’s use three points on the graph to show how HDB resale prices of 5-room flats have changed in Sengkang town over the past 10 years.

When compared to the HDB Resale Price Index, we can see that median prices of 5-room flats in Sengkang rose faster than overall HDB resale prices between the start of 2016 and 2020. However, between 2020 and 2024, the increase in the median price was not as much as the increase in HDB resale prices overall. 

In other words, after the 2020 general elections, Sengkang’s HDB resale prices did not increase as much as the rest of the country.

At this point we must note that our methodology is limited by the fact that Sengkang town and Sengkang GRC may not refer to exactly the same area. While majority of Sengkang town does fall within Sengkang GRC, and thus under the purview of Sengkang Town Council, parts of Sengkang West belong to Ang Mo Kio GRC and come under the purview of Ang Mo Kio Town Council.

We also must question if the slower increase in HDB resale prices are simply due to Sengkang town’s location and the fact that it had increased marginally faster between 2016 to 2020? 

As a comparison, let’s look at how prices changed in next door Punggol town – which is similar in terms of being a relatively new estate.

Read Also: Neighbourhood Estate Guide: Will Sengkang Be The Next Supertown In 2030?

How Have HDB Resale Prices Changed In Punggol GRC?

As a relatively new town, Punggol, like Sengkang, has enjoyed steady price growth over the past 25 years since the first HDB flats were built in 2002. In 2015, it crossed 100,000 residents and as of June last year, has 199,400 residents.

Like Sengkang, during certain quarters between 2015 and 2018, there were less than 20 resale transactions in that quarter for 3-room flats in Punggol town, hence there is no median price provided. 

Here, we use the same three points on the graph to show how HDB resale prices of 5-room flats have changed in Punggol town over the past 10 years.

When compared to the HDB Resale Price Index, we can see that median prices of 5-room flats in Punggol rose faster than overall HDB resale prices both in the period between the start of 2016 and 2020 and between 2020 and 2024. In other words, after the 2020 general elections, Punggol’s HDB resale prices increased more than the rest of the country.

One explanation for this increase in resale prices could be the picturesque Punggol Waterway Park and My Waterway @ Punggol, completed in 2011, which has significantly increased the value of the properties in the area. Several 5-room HDB flats along the waterfront have sold for $800,000 and above in the past few years.

Read Also: 5S, 5I, 5A: The Different Types Of HDB 5-Room Flats In Singapore

How Do Sengkang and Punggol HDB Resale Prices Compare Over The Past 10 Years?

Earlier, we used three specific points in time to show how HDB resale prices have changed over the past 10 years in Sengkang and Punggol. In this graph, we compared the median 5-room flat prices in the two towns against the Resale Price Index, which represents the overall HDB price changes.

Ultimately, it demonstrates that HDB prices across both towns have increased at roughly the same trajectory as the rest of the country. 

One can therefore conclude that being part of an opposition GRC alone may not significantly affect HDB resale prices.

Read Also: Singaporeans’ Guide To Understanding Town Councils And Their Service & Conservancy Charges

The post Does Being In An Opposition GRC Affect HDB Resale Prices in Sengkang GRC? appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.