PropNex breaks record with resale of Bukit Merah estate flat

The property is now the most expensive HDB flat resale in Singapore.

PropNex Realty said one of its agents was able to close a $1.588m deal through the resale of a five-room HDB flat at 9B Boon Tiong Road in Bukit Merah estate.

In a statement, the real estate agency said this is now the most expensive HDB flat ever sold in Singapore, beating the resale of a five-room DBSS (design, build, and sell scheme) flat at 139A Lorong 1A Toa Payoh in January 2024 which was worth about $1.57m.

PropNex said the 112-square metre unit is located on a storey above the 35th floor and has a 99-year lease commencing from January 2016. The HDB project at Boon Tiong Road comprising blocks 9A, 9B, 10A, and 10B – collectively known as Tiong Bahru View - is a replacement housing site under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) for blocks at 110, 111, 113 and 114 Bukit Merah View, which have been demolished, it noted.

Key Executive Officer Lim Yong Hock said the company has observed that home buyers are willing to pay more than $1m for a resale flat situated near the city, within walking distance to the MRT station, located on a high floor with views, having a relatively lengthy lease balance, and being in an estate that offers convenience in terms of amenities. The Boon Tiong Road flat has all these elements, he added.

“Furthermore, we also observe steady demand for 5-room resale flats in city fringe locations, as 5-room flats are typically not offered in HDB’s build-to-order (BTO) projects in choice locations closer to the city. We are heartened that our salesperson, who acted for the seller has garnered an optimal outcome for his client,” Lim said.

As of 30 April, 43 HDB flats at the four blocks in Tiong Bahru View were resold for at least $1m since July 2018, PropNex said. Specifically in block 9B Boon Tiong Road, 13 million-dollar resale flats were sold - comprising three 4-room flats and 10 units of 5-room flats excluding the latest record-breaking deal, it added.

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“Despite the higher number of million-dollar flats sold, they still accounted for a small fraction of the overall HDB resale flat transactions, at around 2.8% in the first four months of 2024,” Lim said.

“Million-dollar resale flats aside, we observe that the general demand for HDB resale flats remains healthy, with the transaction volume rising by 8% QOQ to 7,068 flats in Q1 2024. For the whole of 2024, we are projecting HDB resale volume to trend at around 26,000 to 27,000 units,” he added.