SINGAPORE - A five-room Housing Board loft unit in Treelodge @ Punggol changed hands for $970,000 last month, the sixth flat in Punggol that has fetched more than $900,000 since 2019.
However, while million-dollar HDB resale deals now regularly make headlines, these flats are in mature estates, and analysts say it may take some time before a similar transaction surfaces in a non-mature estate.
High floor, good views, location and the unit's renovations are some factors that typically characterise a million-dollar HDB resale flat, said ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak.
PHOTO: Shawn Khoo
"There is also the question of whether there is a buyer who is willing to pay $1 million. If you do have that money to spend, there are plenty of locations to choose from, so outlying non-mature areas like Punggol may not be the first choice," he said.
"Eventually, in many years to come, there will be $1 million flats in all parts of Singapore, simply because of inflation. But in the shorter term, at least for the next one year, I don't think we'll see any million-dollar flats in outlying areas," added Mr Mak.
PHOTO: Shawn Khoo
Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, shared similar sentiments, noting that so far, only six units in Punggol have sold for more than $900,000.
"The numbers are not big. We may see one (resale unit) in non-mature areas crossing the $1 million mark but it may still take a while," she said.
Till now, there has been only one million-dollar transaction in a non-mature estate.
In January 2018, a 177 sq m maisonette unit at Block 851 Hougang Central changed hands for $1 million. The flat, on one of the highest floors in the 15-storey block, had 78 years left in the 99-year lease.
PHOTO: Shawn Khoo
HDB loft units are a type of premium apartments that are highly sought-after for their bigger space and double-storey height, which are rare attributes for public housing.
The Punggol loft unit that sold for $970,000 has a floor area of 147 sq m and around 89 years left in the 99-year lease.
There are only 14 loft units in Treelodge @ Punggol, which was launched as a Build-To-Order (BTO) project in 2007 and hailed as Singapore's first public housing development with eco-friendly features.
Punggol Sapphire, a BTO project rolled out in 2008, has 23 loft units.
Another 26 loft units are in the mature estate of Queenstown in the SkyTerrace @ Dawson BTO project, where home owners completed their five-year minimum occupation period last year.
Last month, a five-room, 122 sq m loft unit in that development transacted for $1.328 million. The unit, on the 42nd and 43rd floors, has views of the good class bungalow area in Tanglin.
PHOTO: Shawn Khoo
November also saw 29 HDB resale flats changing hands for at least $1 million, smashing the previous monthly record of 26 in August.
This brings the total number to 223 in the first 11 months of this year, in what has already been a record year for million-dollar flats. All are in mature estates such as Bishan, Queenstown and Toa Payoh.
PHOTO: Shawn Khoo
There were 82 million-dollar resale flats for the whole of last year.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.