The Housing & Development Board (HDB) recently released the median resale prices for the 1st Quarter 2026, and two very different numbers jumped out. In Toa Payoh, the median resale prices for 4-room and 5-room flats had crossed the $1 million mark, with 4-room flats at $1 million and 5-room flats at $1.1 million. However, in the same HDB town, the median 3-room flat resale price was only $370,000.
This isn’t the first time that prices of 3-room flats in Toa Payoh have been significantly lower than their 4-room and 5-room counterparts, but this is the first time median prices of 5-room flats in Toa Payoh are almost three times the price of a 3-room flat.
As the second satellite town after Queenstown, and the first to be conceived and built solely by HDB as part of its first five-year building programme, Toa Payoh was designed to be a self-contained town. Its development continues to this day, with many older flats being replaced by newer ones since 1995.
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The Bidadari Effect
Despite being built over a former cemetery, the Bidadari estate has proven to be popular among HDB homebuyers, with most units in Alkaff Vista and Alkaff Lakeview selling for over $1 million since they reached their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
The high concentration of 4-room and 5-room units in this new neighbourhood has therefore skewed the median prices of Toa Payoh flats. Of the 102 4-room units sold in the 1st Quarter 2026, about a third of them were from the newly MOP estates.
But that is not to say that the rest of Toa Payoh isn’t just as expensive. Toa Payoh Crest, which MOP in 2023, and The Peak @ Toa Payoh, developed as part of the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), continue to command prices above $1 million.
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To summarise, on top of Toa Payoh’s excellent central location, these 4-room and 5-room flats are simply newer and therefore able to command their high prices.
So we can understand why the median prices of 4-room and 5-room flats in Toa Payoh are so high. Why are median 3-room flat prices in Toa Payoh so much lower?
When Toa Payoh was first conceived as a satellite town, about half the units built were 3-room flats, the largest unit size then being built. It is simply because of this that median prices for 3-room flats in Toa Payoh continue to remain low – there is simply too much supply of flats with leases of less than 50 years.
For example, only 13 of the 94 3-room resale transactions in Q1 2026 were from flats that had recently MOP. The prices of these flats ranged from $720,000 to $868,000, with a median price of $830,000.
So why are so many HDB homebuyers still willing to pay for older 3-room flats in Toa Payoh? There are two main reasons.
Toa Payoh’s Connectivity
Many 3-room flats in Toa Payoh, despite their age, still remain extremely connected to the rest of Singapore. Many of them are within walking distance of one of two MRT stations serving the town, namely Toa Payoh and Braddell.
These stations on the North-South Line are within 15 minutes of Bishan, Newton, Orchard, Dhoby Ghaut, and City Hall MRT interchanges, giving you access to practically every part of the island with just one quick transfer.
The relatively central location of these MRT stations keeps HDB flats around them popular despite their age. In January 2026, a buyer paid $410,000 for a 3-room flat at 183 Toa Payoh Central, with about 45 years left on the lease. The flat is located just next to the HDB Hub.
Distance From Top Primary Schools In Toa Payoh
There are 8 primary schools in Toa Payoh, and many of them are considered top schools. These include CHIJ (Toa Payoh), Maris Stella High, Pei Chun Public School, and St. Andrew’s School (Junior).
As these schools are consistently popular with parents, entry often depends on balloting. Balloting is conducted when the number of applicants exceeds the number of school vacancies, but priority admission is given to those living within 1km or 2km of the school. This means that distance becomes a crucial factor when balloting for vacancies in these schools.
For the sake of ensuring that your child gets into a popular school, you might be willing to pay more than usual for an older 3-room flat in Toa Payoh. For example, in Toa Payoh Palm Springs, where these flats have a remaining lease of less than 43 years, one buyer was willing to pay $385,000 in January 2026 for a 3-room flat.
This flat is within 1km of 5 of the 8 primary schools in Toa Payoh, including CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh) and Pei Chun Public School, and within 2km of schools like St. Andrew’s School (Junior), and even popular schools in Bishan like Catholic High School (Primary) and Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School.
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Ultimately, there is no perfect scenario for HDB homebuyers. They either have to pay high premiums for the central location of Toa Payoh, if they want flats with long leases, or be willing to pay half that price for a much older flat with less than 50 years left on the lease.
