SINGAPORE – The first flats from the Bidadari housing estate have hit the resale market and analysts say the initial transactions show there is strong demand for flats in the area, especially from young couples looking to buy their first homes.

According to Housing Board data, four transactions have been lodged for flats in Bidadari Park Drive. Three were four-room flats that transacted for between $937,500 and $1.17 million.

The remaining transaction was a 113 sq m five-room unit that was sold for $1.2 million.

Some analysts say the prices could serve as benchmarks for other transactions in the area, while others cautioned against thinking that “million-dollar” transactions would be the norm for flats there.

The deals were among the first resale transactions from the new estate, where flats in Alkaff Vista – which comprises 199 four-room and 151 five-room flats – recently fulfilled their five-year minimum occupation period (MOP).

Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Bidadari were significantly oversubscribed when launched in November 2015, with as many as 20 applicants vying for a five-room unit.

Now that the flats can be resold, property agents and analysts say prices reflect the high demand for homes in the area.

They said resale buyers are keen on the units even though it is a new estate because of its convenient location on the city fringe and proximity to amenities such as MRT stations and The Woodleigh Mall.

PropNex agent Jayden Chia said he received five offers for the 94 sq m unit in Alkaff Vista and the eventual buyers – a couple in their 30s – agreed to purchase it for $1.08 million in September.

The transaction has yet to be reflected on HDB’s website as it takes about three months for a resale transaction to be finalised.

Mr Chia said most prospective buyers were young couples looking to buy their first home and were drawn by Bidadari’s convenient location near Woodleigh and Potong Pasir MRT stations, as well as St Andrew’s School.

Four-room flats in Alkaff Vista were priced between $433,000 and $550,000 when they were launched in 2015, and five-room units went for $544,000 to $625,000.

Professor Sing Tien Foo, provost’s chair professor of real estate at NUS Business School, said the resale prices in Bidadari were unsurprising, pointing out that new flats in other areas on the city fringe, such as Dawson, have also had high transaction prices. While Bidadari is a new estate, Dawson is located within the mature town of Queenstown.

“The strong price appreciation could be due to the high demand for areas where private housing prices could be out of reach for many average-income families,” he said, citing The Woodleigh Residences condominium, which is priced above $2,000 per sq ft (psf).

He added that the recently transacted prices in Bidadari would prop up resale prices in the area, setting the benchmark for the estate.

Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, said prices of the Bidadari resale flats were comparable to those of flats with a remaining lease of 94 to 95 years in Toa Payoh, a mature town.

Four-room flats in Toa Payoh Apex, near Toa Payoh East, changed hands for $850,000 to about $1.057 million between November 2023 and Sept 17, 2024.

Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm OrangeTee Group, noted that the Bidadari transactions were recorded at prices close to or exceeding $1,000 psf, with the highest at nearly $1,200 psf, an indication of strong demand.

“This psf rate is comparable to what consumers might expect to pay for some older resale condos.”

But she advised potential buyers to exercise caution and not assume that a “million-dollar price tag” was the norm for flats in Bidadari.

“The supply of flats is increasing over time, which may limit future price appreciation,” she said.

The proportion of million-dollar resale flat transactions has grown but remains small, accounting for about 2 per cent of all transactions in the past 1½ years, the Ministry of National Development said in August.

Only 0.5 per cent of four-room and smaller flats transacted in the past two years were sold for a million dollars or more.

More resale flats in Bidadari are expected to come onto the market, with the 531-unit Alkaff LakeView reaching its MOP in the coming months, and the 1,258-unit Alkaff CourtView in 2025.

Checks on Sept 25 showed more than 40 listings for resale flats in Alkaff Vista across listing platforms such as PropertyGuru, 99.co and the HDB Flat Portal.

Ms Wong said demand will likely remain strong for flats in Bidadari. She pointed out that the new Prime, Plus and Standard flat classification, which will kick in from the BTO exercise in October, could channel interest to well-located resale flats, such as those in Bidadari, which do not have significant resale restrictions.

From October, new BTO units closer to amenities like MRT stations and town centres will fall under the Prime and Plus categories. These flats will come with stricter resale conditions such as a 10-year MOP and a subsidy clawback.

“Some prospective buyers may not be willing to be subjected to these stricter conditions and the longer MOP and they may decide to buy a resale flat in attractive locations instead,” she said.

The Bidadari estate consists of 12 BTO developments across four districts – Alkaff, Bartley Heights, Park Edge and Woodleigh. The Alkaff and Woodleigh districts have been completed, with the remaining two districts set for completion by mid-2025.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.