After removal of 15-month wait-out period, a record 201 million-dollar HDB flats were sold in August

It took nearly four years for the government to remove the 15-month wait-out period for private home owners purchasing non-subsidised HDB flats without a HDB loan.

What started out as a temporary measure back in September 2022, aimed at moderating rising demand for large-sized HDB resale flats at the time, the property cooling measure loomed over the housing market.

The immediate lifting of this policy on July 28 this year was largely foretold by most market analysts, who had expected — since 2025 — that the government would roll back the measure, in light of the recent stabilisation of the HDB resale market.

We published an editorial last year, written by our deputy editor Ryan Ong, which argued that the policy had run its course: In a Weak Economy, This Policy Hurts Singaporean Homeowners Most.

Now, in the month-long period since the removal of the wait-out period, we saw a spike in the number of record-breaking resale transactions for five-room and larger flats. While jaw dropping, million-dollar deals for resale HDB flats have been making headlines for some time, but the number of these deals closing in the past two weeks caught our eye.

Recent record-breaking HDB resale transactions

By our count, at least six record-breaking deals were signed over the two-week period from Aug 24 to date. They include older resale flats to recently eligible resale flats. This doesn’t include other million-dollar and over $900,000 transactions that were also lodged, but didn’t set record prices in their respective neighbourhoods.

It’s too early to say for certain if this is a temporary spike after the removal of the 15-month wait-out period, or if it catalyzes a steady pick up in demand for five-room flats, executive maisonettes, and executive apartments.

Regardless, it’s clear that record-setting HDB transactions are not going away anytime soon. In August alone, there were 201 million-dollar flats sold on the resale market, setting a new monthly high. The breakdown of seven-figure transactions included 82 units of four-room flats, 65 units of five-room flats, 53 executive flats, and a three-room HDB terrace in Queenstown.

But there have been other record-breaking deals in recent days as well. A four-room flat at Macpherson Spring was just transacted for $1.11 million earlier this week. The 1,001 sq ft unit, between the 19th to 21st floors, was sold for $1,089 psf.

It was just two months ago that the previous record price at Macpherson Spring had been set. That sale involved a four-room flat that changed hands for $1.10 million in July. But this development is no stranger to seven-figure sales, with four-room flat prices starting to cross the million-dollar threshold in September 2024.

For Macpherson Spring, from a record resale three-room flat transaction in April this year to the latest four-room transaction, prices have steadily been on the rise. A significant number of record-breaking four-room million-dollar transactions so far this year have stemmed from this development.

Likewise, a four-room flat at Bedok Beacon changed hands for $1.2 million ($1,198 psf), and the 1,001 sq ft flat is between the 10th to 12th floors. This also edged up the previous record resale in Bedok by just $10,000 — the runner-up is a four-room flat at another BTO project, Bedok South Horizon.

Bedok South Horizon has also been breaking records for five-room transactions. Between May and August, five separate resale transactions across both blocks saw flats change hands for over $1.2 million.

Locational attributes are a strong pull, and contribute to million-dollar valuations

Location, connectivity, and neighbourhood transformation are key contributing factors that have kept housing prices elevated in some of the areas around record-setting HDB resale flats.

For projects like Macpherson Spring, the estate is near Macpherson Interchange on the Downtown and Circle Lines, and it is one stop away from Paya Lebar MRT station, a regional commercial hub with landmark buildings such as Paya Lebar Quarter, SingPost Centre, and Paya Lebar Square.

For Bedok Beacon, similar attributes can be found. We last wrote about the 18,425 flats which are reaching their MOP in 2026, and this BTO project will contribute about 500 of the resale eligible flats, including two- and three-room units.

The estate is in the heart of Bedok, located next to key amenities including the Bedok Integrated Transport Hub, Bedok Mall and Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre. The town centre, HDB branch office and Bedok MRT station are also a few minutes walk away.

With the $1.2 million benchmark for the first transaction of the three blocks reaching MOP this year, prices at this BTO project could rise if demand for this area keeps up. The price increases may be more gradual at neighbouring estates, which comprise older flats with remaining leases of just over 50 years.

Why demand for large flats is surging, and how they’ve become the focal beneficiaries

The recent lifting of the 15-month wait-out period has reopened the door for private home owners looking to right-size into the HDB resale market.

From 28 July 2026, eligible private property owners can purchase non-subsidised HDB resale flats without waiting for 15 months after selling their previous home. For those pending appeals for a waiver of the waiting period, they may proceed to apply for a HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter directly.

This change follows several quarters of price moderation in the HDB resale market, which has shown signs of stabilisation.

Many private property owners may have delayed right-sizing because of the need to arrange interim housing due to the 15-month waitout period. Now, they can move more directly from a private property to a large HDB resale flat within the timeframe it takes for the transaction and handover from their seller to be completed.

We may see some private property owners who want to right-size into HDB flats prioritise these larger-sized flats:

• Five-room flats
• Executive Apartments
• Executive Maisonettes
• Multi-generation flats
• Larger units in mature estates

As it is, the number of million-dollar resale transactions has been growing in recent years. More of such transactions are likely to appear in the future, largely driven by the increased pool of private home buyers downgrading.

Over the long term, there’s a chance that the HDB resale market may become increasingly bifurcated rather than moving uniformly as one market. This is due to demand and prices of newer projects and bigger flats moving at a faster rate, rather than evenly across the entire HDB resale market.

Stacked consultancy partner and property agent Norman Koh says that he has yet to see more private properties being listed following the policy change. He observes that the more centralised estates would be the ones that downsizing homeowners would be more keen on buying into.

“Buyers for larger units such as executive flats tend to be retirees who are right-sizing, hence they would not be so concerned about shorter remaining leases,” says Koh. 

He also predicts that the buying interest in larger HDB flats such as the five-room flats and executive apartments would be short term and concentrated in areas where supply is limited.

Even so, a sudden surge in the number of premium flat transactions is unlikely to significantly impact the overall resale market. With premium flat transactions accounting for a minority of total transactions, any price spikes will likely be contained within this specific segment.

The impact will also be felt in rental demand for small condos and large HDB resale flats, as locals who used to lease these properties during the wait-out period no longer need to find temporary accommodation.

Typically, premium HDB home buyers could be looking for space comparable to a private home, preferably in mature estates with established amenities. Other factors such as proximity to family, schools and transport connectivity may also come into play, although to a lesser extent for retirees.

For some private property owners, a premium HDB flat is no longer seen as a downgrade, and more of a strategic lifestyle and wealth decision. 

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