Pinnacle@Duxton deal reaches $1.72m, $8,000 shy of current national record

A five-room flat at Pinnacle@Duxton has secured a buyer at $1.72 million, placing the iconic HDB development on the verge of another record.

The 1,152 sq ft corner unit is located between the 19th to 21st storeys of Block 1C Cantonment Road. Its Option to Purchase (OTP) was exercised on Aug 21, although the transaction has yet to be completed or reflected in public records.

Once completed, the deal would become the most expensive resale transaction at Pinnacle@Duxton, surpassing a $1.701 million sale registered in September. It would also rank as Singapore's second-highest HDB resale price, sitting just $8,000 below the national record.

The $1.72m Pinnacle@Duxton flat at a glance

The record-setting deal involves a 5-room flat at Block 1C Cantonment Road. At $1.72 million, the 1,152 sq ft unit works out to approximately $1,493 psf.

The home comes with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. As a corner unit, it also has a private foyer area before the main entrance.

However, its strongest feature may be its east-facing outlook. The living area looks towards the conservation shophouses around Craig Road and Duxton, with partial views of the CBD and Pearl's Hill. Its orientation also means the unit avoids direct afternoon sun from the west.

A planter beside the living area allows for a full-length, floor-to-ceiling window, opening the interior towards the surrounding cityscape. The master bedroom also comes with a bay window.

According to listing agents Jason Lee and Christine Tan, the home had remained largely unchanged since the owners first renovated it upon moving in. But while the interior was not the most contemporary, it had a certain charm and gave prospective buyers room to imagine how they could make the space their own.

Pinnacle@Duxton's record has risen twice in four months

Pinnacle@Duxton had already set a new development record in May 2026, when a five-room flat at Block 1B sold for $1.63 million. Located between the 43rd and 45th storeys, that unit measured around 1,130 sqft and fetched approximately S$1,442 psf.

On 9th September, another five-room flat at Block 1B raised the publicly recorded benchmark to $1.701 million. The 1,152 sq ft unit was located between the 28th and 30th storeys and changed hands for around $1,477 psf.

The pending $1.72 million deal would overtake that transaction by S$19,000, or approximately 1.1 per cent.

Compared with the $1.63 million sale in May, the latest deal is $90,000, or around 5.5 per cent, higher despite being located more than 20 floors below it.

It would be Singapore's second-highest HDB sale

At $1.72 million, the Pinnacle@Duxton deal would also sit remarkably close to Singapore's overall HDB resale record.

That title currently belongs to a five-room flat at City Vue @ Henderson, which sold for S$1.728 million in April 2026. The 1,216 sq ft unit was located between the 46th and 48th storeys of Block 96A Henderson Road.

This places the Pinnacle unit just $8,000, or around 0.5 per cent, below the national record. However, considering its smaller size, the Pinnacle flat would have the higher psf price. Its approximate $1,493 psf is around five per cent above the S$1,421 psf recorded for the larger City Vue unit.

It is not a completely like-for-like comparison. City Vue @ Henderson has a younger lease that commenced in 2019, while the developments also differ in their layouts, views and immediate surroundings. Nevertheless, the narrow price gap shows how closely Pinnacle@Duxton is now competing at the very top of Singapore's HDB resale market.

Why did a mid-floor unit command such a high price?

At a 50-storey development, a unit within the 19th-to-21st-storey band may not immediately sound like the obvious candidate for an all-time high. However, Pinnacle@Duxton is one development where floor level alone does not tell the full story.

The seven towers are positioned at slightly different angles. This means two flats at similar heights can have noticeably different views, sun exposure and levels of road noise. Even within the same flat type, variations in the position of bay windows and planter areas can change the size of the windows and how spacious a home feels.

For this particular unit, the east-facing orientation towards the Duxton and Craig Road shophouses was a major draw. According to the agents, it is one of the development's more sought-after five-room stacks because it combines city views with no direct west sun. They added that some prospective buyers had been waiting since the previous year for a 5-room unit with this particular size and facing.

Nearly 30 buyers viewed the flat in one day

The flat was initially listed at S$1.68 million, which was already among the highest asking prices at Pinnacle@Duxton at the time. Even so, interest emerged quickly. The unit was on the market for only around one to two weeks, with close to 30 prospective buyers attending a single viewing day held over three hours.

Rather than conducting an open house with several groups moving through the home at once, the viewings were spaced out to give each household more time inside the unit.

Multiple offers were subsequently received through a blind bidding process, with all interested parties submitting what they were prepared to pay without being told the competing bids.

The successful buyers were a relatively young family with children who were particularly drawn to Pinnacle@Duxton's location. The sellers, meanwhile, are retirees who have owned the flat since its BTO launch. They decided to downsize and move closer to their family, with the proceeds from the sale contributing to their retirement funds.

"Honestly, we rarely set out with the objective of breaking records," Jason and Christine said. "We focus on showcasing each unit's potential and helping the sellers find the right buyer at the right price."

The original owners may see a gross gain of around $1.32m

When Pinnacle@Duxton was launched in 2004, its 5-room flats were priced between $345,100 and S$439,400 before grants.

The midpoint of this range is approximately $392,250. If we add a rough $5,000 allowance for the unit's higher-floor position, its estimated original purchase price may have been around S$397,250.

Based on this simplified calculation, the difference between the estimated launch price and the $1.72 million selling price would be around $1,322,750. This means the flat's value may have grown to more than four times its estimated original price.

However, this should not be treated as the owners' actual cash profit. The original purchase price has not been disclosed, while renovation costs, loan interest, legal expenses, agent commission and the CPF principal and accrued interest to be refunded would affect the final proceeds.

Depending on where the flat's original purchase price fell within the BTO range, the seller may have made a gross gain of between $1.28 million and $1.37 million, before accounting for these expenses.

Why does Pinnacle@Duxton continue to attract buyers?

While the unit's stack and layout played an important role, the wider appeal of Pinnacle@Duxton remains difficult to separate from its location.

Residents are within walking distance of four MRT lines through Tanjong Pagar, Outram Park, Maxwell and Cantonment stations. Cantonment MRT station opened as part of Circle Line Stage 6 in July 2026, adding another connection close to the development.

The CBD is also within walking distance, while neighbourhoods such as Tanjong Pagar, Chinatown, Keong Saik, Everton Park and Spottiswoode can be reached easily on foot.

This gives residents access to an unusually wide mix of hawker centres, supermarkets, cafes, restaurants, fitness studios, healthcare facilities and nightlife. For some households, the appeal is not simply about living near the city but being able to complete most daily activities without travelling far from home.

Within the development, the seven residential towers are connected by sky gardens on the 26th and 50th storeys. Residents also have access to recreational facilities, green spaces, a jogging track, a childcare centre and food options.

Larger flats here are relatively limited as well. Of the 1,848 homes launched at Pinnacle@Duxton, 616 were five-room units. Buyers who specifically want a family-sized home within the development therefore have a smaller pool to choose from.

For households comparing Pinnacle@Duxton with private homes in or around the CBD, the price gap may also help support demand. Among the nearby projects reviewed, transactions for three-bedroom leasehold condos above 1,000 sq ft started from approximately $2.46 million at Skysuites@Anson and $2.55 million at The Beacon, while the minimum prices at One Bernam, Wallich Residence and Altez exceeded $3.2 million.

Even the lowest-priced private transaction was around $738,000, or 43 per cent, more than the Pinnacle flat. In this context, $1.72 million may still appear comparatively attractive to families seeking similar space in a central location.

What are the closest HDB alternatives to Pinnacle@Duxton?

While Pinnacle@Duxton has a fairly distinctive offering, buyers looking for similar qualities do have a few alternatives to consider.

According to the agents, the Dawson developments are probably the closest in overall standing. Projects such as SkyVille@Dawson and SkyTerrace@Dawson are also architecturally distinctive, relatively central and highly sought after, often commanding premiums over the wider Queenstown HDB market.

However, they offer a slightly different living environment. Dawson has a younger lease, plenty of greenery and a quieter, more residential atmosphere while remaining close to town. This could suit buyers who appreciate Pinnacle's design and centrality but prefer somewhere calmer and newer.

From a location and lifestyle perspective, buyers could also consider the Tiong Bahru and Boon Tiong Road area. Its newer HDB developments sit close to Tiong Bahru's older walk-up apartments, cafes and established amenities, offering a mix of modern housing and neighbourhood character.

Ultimately, each option has a slightly different appeal: Pinnacle offers a highly walkable city-centre lifestyle, Dawson provides a greener and more peaceful setting, while Tiong Bahru combines central accessibility with a distinctive heritage neighbourhood.

Did the removal of the 15-month wait-out period help this sale?

The OTP was exercised shortly after the 15-month wait-out period for private residential property owners buying non-subsidised HDB resale flats was removed in July 2026. In theory, the policy change has widened the pool of buyers who can immediately consider high-value resale flats such as those at Pinnacle@Duxton.

However, the agents shared that most of the interested parties they met did not own private property. It would therefore be difficult to attribute the strong interest in this unit mainly to the policy change. Instead, the response appears to have been driven primarily by the availability of a well-positioned 5-room unit in a development where suitable listings are limited.

Would this sale set a new benchmark for other Pinnacle flats?

A $1.72 million deal within the 19th-to-21st-storey band is likely to influence the expectations of other Pinnacle@Duxton owners, particularly those with five-room homes on higher levels.

The agents have already observed new listings entering the market at higher asking prices. Some buyers who missed out on this unit have also turned their attention to other 5-room flats within the development, while others have switched to more affordable four-room options.

Still, one record does not mean every Pinnacle flat can achieve the same result. The agents noted that other five-room units had been marketed at similar prices for several months, attracting enquiries without securing a suitable buyer.

"Sellers who adopt a 'list high and they will come' mentality may be surprised to find that multiple enquiries do not necessarily translate into a sale," Jason and Christine said.

Differences in facing, layout, floor level, condition and seller expectations can have a significant effect on the final outcome. This is particularly important at Pinnacle@Duxton, where two flats of the same size may offer very different living experiences.

For now, the $1.72 million deal shows that buyers remain willing to pay a substantial premium when the right unit becomes available. However, it should be viewed as the outcome of a rare combination of unit attributes, strong buyer interest and limited five-room supply rather than a new baseline for every home in the development.

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This article was first published in 99.co.