Million-Dollar HDB Flats the New Norm?

The trend of getting shocked when you tune into the news to see another million-dollar HDB sold is seemingly becoming a norm. The number of million-dollar HDB flats is on the rise and the government has put in place measures to cool off the market but the efforts are yet to be seen. So far, we've seen maisonette (EM), executive apartment (EA), 5-room flat, and 4-room flat cross the million-dollar mark. Hopefully we won't see a 3-room flat reach a million (excluding HDB terrace flats).

If you think that the first million-dollar flat in Singapore is probably one of the units at Pinnacle@Duxton then you are wrong. The first ever million-dollar flat transacted in Singapore happened in July 2012, a 150 sqm executive (EA) flat at Mei Ling Street in Queenstown. It hit a million dollars on the dot.

Resale flats sold for at least a million dollars have risen for the sixth consecutive quarter.

Tabulating the total amount of million-dollar HDB flats in Singapore we can really see the ramp-up in transactions over the years. And we can also safely say we are expected to see 2024 surpass 2023 and double its figures based on its trajectory.

Most of the million-dollar homes are around the central regions of Singapore or around the fringe of the city area. Apart from the physical attributes of these homes, you know for certain that location plays the biggest role in determining the price of your home.

Out of the 24 towns and 3 estates in Singapore, there are only four of them who at this point in time have yet to record a resale transaction above S$1 million. The four towns are Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West, Sembawang and Tengah.

The latest town to have had a million-dollar HDB transaction is Sengkang. In June of this year, it recorded its first million-dollar home, with an executive flat at Compassvale Lane changing hands for S$1,000,000, the highest this town's ever seen.

To date, the maximum transacted prices of these towns are: Jurong West ($980,000), Choa Chu Kang ($907,888), and Sembawang ($850,000). We do not have any transactional data for Tengah as it is a brand-new town and residents there only started moving in at the end of 2023.

It is with a high degree of certainty that we will see a million-dollar HDB flat in Jurong West, Choa Chu Kang, and Sembawang in the near future. In my opinion, it is not really a question of if we will see it, more of when it'll happen. What's your prediction? Do you think these three towns will have a million-dollar flat before the end of 2024? Let us know!

Views expressed in this article belong to the writer(s) and do not reflect PropNex's position.