Kenny's Take
Two resale markets, one signal: buyers came back in July, but they came back picky. HDB resale volume hit its strongest month of 2026 even as the price index kept falling — proof that lower prices, not stronger sentiment, are pulling transactions through. Private condo resale told almost the same story, except in the CCR, where prices actually rose 2.6% while RCR and OCR both softened — a gap between prime and everywhere else that's opening faster than the headline numbers suggest. If you're selling in a mature HDB estate or an OCR/RCR condo, price to the transaction data, not last quarter's comps. And if you're an upgrader circling a CCR entry, Clementi Park's decade-best two-bedder returns are the kind of proof point that the right unit in the right estate still beats chasing the newest launch.
🏘️ HDB Resale Hits a 2026-High Month, But Prices Keep Slipping
- HDB resale volume rose to 2,660 transactions in July 2026, up 24.5% from June's 2,137 and 3.1% higher than July 2025 — the strongest month for the resale market so far this year.
- Despite the pickup in buying, the Resale Price Index fell 0.7% month-on-month (from 208.9 to 207.3) and is now 0.7% lower than a year ago, with declines broad-based across Mature Estates (-1.7%) and Non-Mature Estates (-0.3%).
📊 Condo Resale Rebounds Too — But Only CCR Prices Actually Rose
- Private condo resale activity also improved in July, recovering from a quiet June, though volume still trailed both July 2025 and the typical seasonal level for the month.
- Overall resale prices slipped 0.3% month-on-month, but the three regions told very different stories: CCR climbed 2.6%, while RCR fell 1.1% and OCR fell 0.9% — a widening prime-versus-suburban gap that the townwide average alone doesn't show.
💼 Clementi Park's Two-Bedders Are Quietly the Estate's Best Trade
- A Stacked Homes resale-profit analysis found Clementi Park's two-bedroom units delivered the strongest returns of any comparable two-bedder in Clementi over the past decade — an average profit of $414,683 on a 32.21% return.
- The result is a reminder that unit-mix and vintage inside an estate can matter more than the estate's overall reputation when the goal is capital gain, not just livability.
🏦 Financing & Rates
- No new SORA print since 24 August's sixth straight weekly rise — 1-month at 1.197%, 3-month at 1.137%, 6-month at 1.111% — with rates holding flat for a fourth straight day. Maybank remains the best-in-market package at 3-month SORA +0.20% (1.34% all-in).
🔭 What I'm watching
- Whether CCR condo prices keep separating from RCR/OCR over the next print, which would sharpen the case for upgraders to move into prime districts sooner rather than later.
- Whether July's resale volume rebound — both HDB and private — holds into August, or was a one-month catch-up after a quiet June.