Despite two rounds of property cooling measures (in December 2021 and September 2022), Singapore’s resale HDB market remained red-hot. 467 HDB flats transacted at $1 million or higher in 2023, completely blowing past the past records of 370 in 2022 and 259 in 2021. With such record-breaking prices, it’s no wonder that affordable housing has been a hot topic for public debate.
Instead of its previous rarity, it seems that every month or so, there will be a new record-breaking sale in a different estate. Across the 27 HDB estates, 22 estates have at least one HDB flat that breached the $1 million mark.
So what’s so special about these HDB flats that command a price tag of $1 million or more and where can we find them?
Note: due to the large number of transactions, we would not be listing the actual resale transactions. Detailed information may be found on HDB’s Resale Price search.
Housing Estates That Have HDB Flats More Than $1 Million In 2023
| 4-Room | 5-Room | Executive | Multi-Gen | Total | |
| Ang Mo Kio | 3 | 21 | 7 | – | 31 |
| Bedok | – | 3 | 6 | – | 9 |
| Bishan | 8 | 6 | 31 | – | 45 |
| Bukit Batok | – | – | 4 | – | 4 |
| Bukit Merah | 19 | 43 | – | – | 62 |
| Bukit Panjang | – | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Buki Timah | – | 6 | 8 | – | 14 |
| Central | 36 | 11 | 1 | – | 48 |
| Choa Chu Kang | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| Clementi | 2 | 22 | 7 | – | 31 |
| Geylang | – | 8 | 3 | – | 11 |
| Hougang | – | – | 5 | – | 5 |
| Jurong East | – | – | 6 | – | 6 |
| Jurong West | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| Kallang/Whampoa | 21 | 23 | 7 | – | 51 |
| Marine Parade | – | 5 | – | – | 5 |
| Pasir Ris | – | – | 2 | – | 2 |
| Punggol | – | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| Queenstown | 24 | 18 | 6 | – | 48 |
| Sembawang | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| Sengkang | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| Serangoon | – | – | 15 | – | 15 |
| Tampines | – | 1 | 1 | – | 2 |
| Tengah | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| Toa Payoh | 12 | 33 | 12 | – | 57 |
| Woodlands | – | – | 14 | – | 14 |
| Yishun | – | – | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Of these 22 HDB estates, Bukit Merah, Central, Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, and Toa Payoh have the most numbers of flats that transacted $1 million and above.
4-Room Flats Worth $1 Million or More
Only 8 housing estates have 4-room flats that transacted for $1 million or more. In total, 125 resale transactions of 4-room flats crossed the $1 million mark. 36 of these, were concentrated in the Central area, specifically at Pinnacle@Duxton. 24 were in Queenstown and the rest scattered across Ang Mo Kio, Clementi, Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah, Bishan and Kallang/ Whampoa.
| # of 4-Room $1 Million HDB Flats Sold | Highest Price | Average Price | |
| Ang Mo Kio | 3 | $1,018,888 | $1,010,000 |
| Bishan | 8 | $1,090,000 | $1,061,000 |
| Bukit Merah | 19 | $1,500,000 | $1,072,000 |
| Central | 36 | $1,410,888 | $1,214,000 |
| Clementi | 2 | $1,050,000 | $1,025,000 |
| Kallang/ Whampoa | 21 | $1,300,888 | $1,058,000 |
| Queenstown | 4 | $1,188,888 | $1,058,000 |
| Toa Payoh | 12 | $1,100,000 | $1,027,000 |
5-Room Flats Worth $1 Million or More
Of all the flat types, 5-room flats have the most transactions that cross the $1 million mark, with 202 units of 5-room flat transactions. This was spread across Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Central, Clementi, Geylang, Kallang/ Whampoa, Marine Parade, Punggol, Queenstown, Tampines, and Toa Payoh.
| # of 5-Room $1 Million HDB Flats Sold | Highest Price | Average Price | |
| Ang Mo Kio | 21 | $1,200,000 | $1,082,000 |
| Bedok | 3 | $1,068,000 | $1,032,000 |
| Bishan | 6 | $1,430,000 | $1,339,000 |
| Bukit Merah | 43 | $1,460,000 | $1,162,000 |
| Bukit Timah | 6 | $1,210,000 | $1,128,000 |
| Central | 11 | $1,480,000 | $1,374,000 |
| Clementi | 22 | $1,280,000 | $1,138,000 |
| Geylang | 8 | $1,105,000 | $1,050,000 |
| Kallang/Whampoa | 23 | $1,262,000 | $1,128,000 |
| Marine Parade | 5 | $1,038,888 | $1,012,000 |
| Punggol | 2 | $1,220,000 | $1,185,000 |
| Queenstown | 18 | $1,270,000 | $1,149,000 |
| Tampines | 1 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Toa Payoh | 33 | $1,460,000 | $1,190,000 |
Executive Flats Worth $1 Million or More
Executive flats across estates are more likely to command the $1 million price tag with 18 housing estates having at least one executive flat transacting at the price level. Bukit Merah, and Marine Parade did not have any executive flat transactions in 2023.
Only Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West, Sembawang, Sengkang and Tengah did not have any flat transactions (including executive flat type) at or above $1 million.
| # of Executive $1 Million HDB Flats Sold | Highest Price | Average Price | |
| Ang Mo Kio | 7 | $1,200,000 | $1,127,000 |
| Bedok | 6 | $1,110,888 | $1,030,000 |
| Bishan | 31 | $1,450,000 | $1,127,000 |
| Bukit Batok | 4 | $1,088,000 | $1,032,000 |
| Bukit Panjang | 1 | $1,020,000 | $1,020,000 |
| Bukit Timah | 8 | $1,350,000 | $1,232,000 |
| Central | 1 | $1,118,000 | $1,118,000 |
| Clementi | 7 | $1,100,000 | $1,048,000 |
| Geylang | 3 | $1,060,000 | $1,039,000 |
| Hougang | 5 | $1,078,000 | $1,040,000 |
| Jurong East | 6 | $1,020,000 | $1,011,000 |
| Kallang/Whampoa | 7 | $1,146,000 | $1,046,000 |
| Pasir Ris | 2 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Queenstown | 6 | $1,260,000 | $1,170,000 |
| Serangoon | 15 | $1,130,000 | $1,067,000 |
| Tampines | 1 | $1,025,000 | $1,025,000 |
| Toa Payoh | 12 | $1,180,000 | $1,069,000 |
| Woodlands | 14 | $1,150,000 | $1,047,000 |
| Yishun | 3 | $1,068,000 | $1,057,000 |
Multi-Generation Flat Worth $1 Million or More
Only Yishun had resale transactions for Multi-Generational Flats in 2023. Of the 3 transactions, only one crossed the $1 million mark. The most expensive multi-generational flat sold for $1,080,000 in 2023.
Characteristics Of HDB Flats That Command $1 Million Or More
Based on the 2023 resale transactions, there are a few characteristics of resale HDB flats that command a price of $1 million or more. They mainly fall into the following categories:
- Rare Unit Types. For example, the loft apartment layout is rare for HDB flats and can be found in the Punggol and Queenstown.
- Large Floor Area. In general, executive flats have larger floor plans than 5-room flats. In particular, older executive flats were built with larger floor area than new executive flats. Despite their age, these flats can still command a premium, especially when they are conveniently located near a town centre or MRT. In the same lines, jumbo flats are also highly valued for their larger floor area.
- New Flats That Are Recently Out of MOP In Mature Estates. Due to their longer remaining leases and their desirable location in mature estates, these newer flats can also cost a pretty penny. Due to the built-up development in mature estates, new flats in mature estates tend to be hard to come by and those near the town centre and MRT tends to command a hefty premium along with their long remaining lease.
For 2023, the most expensive resale flat transaction was in Queenstown at $1,500,000 for a pre-war apartment loft with 48 years of remaining lease and a spacious floor plan of 176 square metres.
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