HDB resale transaction data is publicly available on data.gov.sg and the HDB resale portal. Most buyers and sellers know it exists. Fewer know how to read it well — specifically, which comparisons are valid and which are misleading.
What the data includes
Each transaction record shows:
- Town and street name
- Block number
- Storey range (e.g. "07 to 09")
- Flat model and type
- Floor area in square metres
- Remaining lease at point of sale
- Resale price
- Month and year of transaction
This is genuinely useful. For a seller or buyer who wants to understand what a block has been trading at, it's the most reliable source available — because these are actual closed transactions, not estimates or asking prices.
How to use it
Start with your specific street. Pull all transactions from the last 12 months for your flat type. If volume is low — fewer than five transactions — extend to 24 months, but weight the recent ones more heavily since the market moves.
Sort by storey range. Higher floors generally command a premium — roughly $5,000 to $15,000 per floor band depending on the estate and demand — but this varies. If your flat is in the 7th to 9th storey range and you're comparing to a transaction at the 13th to 15th level, adjust accordingly.
Look at price per square metre alongside absolute price, especially when comparing different flat models within the same type. New Generation and Model A 4-rooms, for instance, have different floor areas even though they're both classified as 4-room.
What the data doesn't show
The storey range field is a three-floor band, not an exact level. A transaction listed as "07 to 09" could be the 7th, 8th, or 9th floor — the data doesn't specify. This matters because floor premium compounds with each level.
Facing is absent from the data. A flat looking out over a reservoir or a green corridor commands more than one facing a multi-storey carpark, but both show up identically in the dataset. The price difference between them won't be explained by the data alone.
Renovation quality isn't captured. A flat transacted at the top of its block's price range was probably freshly renovated. One at the bottom might have been original finishes from 20 years ago. The data shows both — it doesn't explain the gap.
Why recency matters
HDB resale prices can move $20,000 to $50,000 over 12 months in an active estate. A comparable transaction from 18 months ago is priced into a materially different market environment. When running comps, weight the last six months more heavily than the preceding 12, particularly if prices have been trending in a clear direction over that period.
What the data gives you
Raw transaction data gives you the floor and ceiling for your block — what the range of outcomes looks like for your flat type in your location. It tells you what's possible. It doesn't tell you where your specific flat sits within that range. That depends on factors the data can't see: your exact floor, your facing, the condition of the flat, and how your block's demand is trending right now.
The data is the starting point, not the answer.