The Resale Price Index (RPI) is HDB's quarterly measure of how HDB resale prices move overall, and this guide explains it in 10 short sections.
Reviewed by the Swee Homes data desk on 9 Oct 2026. Sources: HDB. Next check due 7 Jan 2027.
What the RPI is
HDB publishes the RPI with its resale statistics, and HDB describes its purpose in one line.
The RPI tracks the overall price movement of the public housing market.
It is a single overall number, built from many sales.
The RPI can be used to compare the overall price movements of HDB resale flats. It is calculated using resale transactions registered across towns, flat types, and models.
The base period
Every index needs a starting point to compare against, called the base period.
The base period is the 1st quarter of 2009, i.e. RPI has a value of 100 in 1st Quarter 2009.
The same series is open data.
On data.gov.sg, HDB publishes the series as "HDB Resale Price Index (1Q2009 = 100), Quarterly", with data from Q1 1990 to Q2 2026, last updated on 24 Jul 2026.
Flash estimate and final figure
The latest quarter can appear as an early figure, and HDB marks it as such.
On HDB's resale statistics page, the latest row of the RPI table is labelled "3Q (Flash Estimate)", and the table heading reads "3rd Quarter 2025 to 3rd Quarter 2026 (Flash Estimate)".
A flash estimate is therefore not yet the final figure for that quarter. HDB's pages we read do not state when the final figure for a quarter is published, so this guide gives no date. For the latest figure, check HDB's resale statistics page or the data.gov.sg dataset.
How to read a quarter-on-quarter change
A quarter-on-quarter change compares one quarter's index with the quarter before it.
HDB's RPI table shows, for each quarter, the Index and the "% Change from Previous Quarter".
A minus sign means the index is lower than in the previous quarter, and a plus sign means higher. The change describes the overall market, not any single flat. HDB gives its own worked example, which spans a year rather than a quarter.
For example, if the index increases from 100 to 108 in 1 year, that means that on the whole, HDB resale flat prices increased by about 8% over that year.
The last eight quarters
HDB's own table on the resale statistics page lists five quarters at a time, each with its index and its change from the previous quarter.
HDB's RPI table on its resale statistics page lists: 3rd Quarter 2025, index 203.7, +0.4% from the previous quarter; 4th Quarter 2025, 203.6, 0.0%; 1st Quarter 2026, 203.4, -0.1%; 2nd Quarter 2026, 202.8, -0.3%; 3rd Quarter 2026 (Flash Estimate), 202.4, -0.2%.
HDB prints no change figure for the quarters before those. The open-data series gives the index alone, and it covers eight quarters.
On data.gov.sg, the HDB Resale Price Index (1Q2009 = 100), Quarterly series gives these index values: 2024 Q3 192.9; 2024 Q4 197.9; 2025 Q1 201; 2025 Q2 202.9; 2025 Q3 203.7; 2025 Q4 203.6; 2026 Q1 203.4; 2026 Q2 202.8.
To find a change that HDB's table does not print, divide one quarter's index by the previous quarter's index and subtract one.
Year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter
The two changes answer different questions. A quarter-on-quarter change shows the latest single step. A year-on-year change compares a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier, so it spans four steps and ignores the path between them.
HDB's table prints the quarter-on-quarter column. A year-on-year figure is something you work out yourself from two index values, and the example below does so.
The two can point in different directions. A small fall in the latest quarter can sit inside a year that is higher overall, and a rise in the latest quarter can sit inside a year that is lower.
Worked example
This example uses only index values that HDB prints in the facts above. The percentages are our arithmetic, not figures HDB states.
Quarter-on-quarter check: the flash estimate of 202.4 against 202.8 for the previous quarter is a fall of 0.4 index points. Divided by 202.8, that is about minus 0.2 per cent, which matches the change HDB prints in its table.
Year-on-year, flash against the same quarter a year earlier: 202.4 against 203.7 is a fall of 1.3 index points. Divided by 203.7, that is about minus 0.6 per cent. Because the 202.4 is a flash estimate, treat this year-on-year figure as provisional.
Year-on-year on final figures: 4th Quarter 2025 at 203.6 against 4th Quarter 2024 at 197.9 is a rise of 5.7 index points. Divided by 197.9, that is about 2.9 per cent.
Same quarter, one year apart: 2nd Quarter 2026 at 202.8 against 2nd Quarter 2025 at 202.9 is a fall of 0.1 index point, about minus 0.05 per cent, which is close to flat.
The four results look different because they cover different windows. The index has fallen in each quarter of 2026 so far, and it was still higher at the end of 2025 than a year before.
What the RPI does not tell you
The RPI is a market-wide measure. HDB builds it from resale transactions across towns, flat types and models, so it describes the public housing resale market as a whole.
It is not a valuation of any one flat. A flat in one town and flat type can move differently from the overall index, and the index cannot show that.
It is not a forecast. It records quarters that have already been registered, and the latest one may be a flash estimate.
HDB's pages we read do not say whether the RPI counts cash-over-valuation, so this guide makes no claim on that point. For what a specific flat in a specific town sold for, use the median prices and transaction tools in the next section.
Where median resale prices by town and flat type are published
HDB publishes median resale prices on the same resale statistics page as the RPI, split by town and flat type.
HDB's resale statistics page offers "Median resale prices for registered resale applications" by town and flat type, based on resale cases registered in the quarter. The table shown is for 2nd Quarter 2026, and a PDF covers 2nd Quarter 2007 to 2nd Quarter 2026.
A median is a different measure from the RPI, and the page lays out how to read the table.
Per HDB's legend, the median prices are inclusive of Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) where resale prices are above market valuations; a dash (-) means no resale transactions in the quarter; an asterisk means fewer than 20 resale transactions in the quarter for that town and flat type, and the median is not shown as it may not be representative; figures are rounded to the nearest hundred dollars.
HDB lists what it leaves out of the median figures.
HDB states the data excluded transactions that may not accurately reflect the market price, for example resale of part shares, resale between related parties, resale of terrace flats and converted flats.
A median rests on how many sales were registered, and HDB also prints the quarterly counts by flat type.
HDB's "Resale applications registered" table shows a total of 6,396 for 2nd Quarter 2026, against 7,102 for 2nd Quarter 2025. The Executive column includes Multi-Generation flats.
For prices near a particular block or street, HDB points to its map tool.
HDB's page says to use HDB Maps to get past resale transacted prices for specific locations, for example a particular block or street, and that past HDB resale transacted prices (up to 2 years) can be checked by flat type and town or street.
The Q3 2026 flash estimate
This section records what HDB stated in its news release. Each line names the release and its date, so it stays accurate after the final figure comes out.
HDB's flash estimate of the 3rd Quarter 2026 Resale Price Index (RPI), released on 1 October 2026, was 202.4, a decrease of 0.2% from the 2nd Quarter 2026.
In the same release, HDB described this as the third consecutive quarter of decline in resale prices, following decreases of 0.1% and 0.3% in the 1st and 2nd Quarters of 2026 respectively.
For the quarters before it, HDB's table lists these.
On HDB's resale statistics page, the RPI for 2nd Quarter 2026 is listed as 202.8 and for 1st Quarter 2026 as 203.4.
The final third-quarter figure is published later. HDB's pages we read do not give a date for it.
Common questions
Is the Q3 2026 flash estimate the final figure?
No. HDB labels the third-quarter figure a flash estimate, and the final figure is published later.
What does the RPI measure?
The overall movement of HDB resale prices, not the price of one flat. The RPI tracks the overall price movement of the public housing market.
What is the base period?
It is the quarter HDB sets as the starting point of the index. The base period is the 1st quarter of 2009, i.e. RPI has a value of 100 in 1st Quarter 2009.
How is the RPI different from a median resale price?
A median is the middle price of the sales in a quarter, while the RPI tracks the overall movement. HDB defines the median this way. The median price (at 50th percentile) tells you that half of the flats transacted during the quarter were sold above the median price and half were sold below the median price.
When will the final Q3 2026 figure be published?
HDB's pages we read do not state a date. Check HDB's resale statistics page for the latest figure.
Where can I see the latest RPI figure?
HDB's resale statistics page lists the index by quarter and links the full series, and the same series is on data.gov.sg. Check the quarter and the label next to it, since an early estimate is marked as one.
Where to go next
Related guides
- How does an HDB resale flat purchase run, step by step?
- How does an HDB BTO exercise work, and what is in the November 2026 exercise?
About the data
Every figure on this page has its source and the date we checked it. We are not affiliated with any government body. General information, not financial advice.