HDB 5-room apartment sold for record price of $1.588 million in Tiong Bahru

SINGAPORE: PropNex Realty has announced the resale of a five-room HDB flat at 9B Boon Tiong Road in the Bukit Merah estate for a record $1.588 million.

This sale makes it the most expensive HDB flat in Singapore ever soldsurpassing the previous record of a five-room DBSS (design, build and sale) flat at 139A Lorong 1A Toa Payoh, which sold for about $1.57 million in January 2024.

In a statement, PropNex confirmed that the 112 square meter unit is located on one floor above the 35th level and has a 99-year lease from January 2016.

The HDB project on Boon Tiong Road consists of four blocks – 9A, 9B, 10A and 10B – collectively known as Tiong Bahru View.

These blocks are part of a Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) that replaced the demolished blocks at 110, 111, 113 and 114 Bukit Merah View.

PropNex Key Executive Officer Lim Yong Hock pointed out several factors contributing to the property’s premium price tag.

“We have seen that homebuyers are willing to pay more than $1 million for a resale apartment near the city, within walking distance of the MRT station, located on a high floor with nice views, with a relatively long lease term and with a relatively long rental contract. in an estate with convenient amenities,” Mr Lim explains.

He added that the flat on Boon Tiong Road meets all these criteria.

Mr Lim noted continued demand for existing five-room apartments in peripheral locations of the city, as these units are not typically offered in HDB’s build-to-order (BTO) projects in prime locations near the city.

“We are encouraged that our salesperson, acting on behalf of the seller, achieved an optimal outcome for his client,” he said.

According to PropNex, 43 HDB apartments in Tiong Bahru View have been resold for at least $1 million since July 2018.

Block 9B Boon Tiong Road has seen $13 million in resale deals, including three four-bedroom apartments and ten five-bedroom apartments, apart from this latest record-breaking transaction.

However, despite the increasing number of million-dollar resale transactions, Mr Lim emphasizes that these still represent a small portion of total HDB resale transactions, amounting to only about 2.8% in the first four months of 2024.

“Apart from the million-dollar resale apartments, we see overall demand for HDB resale apartments remaining healthy, with transaction volume increasing 8% quarter-on-quarter to 7,068 apartments in the first quarter of 2024,” he added.

For 2024, PropNex expects HDB resale volume to be around 26,000 to 27,000 units.