View of Block 18C Holland Drive.
An HDB resale flat at Holland Drive in Queenstown has been sold for a sky-high price of $1.1 million in June, setting a new record for the most expensive 5-room unit sold outside the iconic Pinnacle @ Duxton housing project.
The record also excludes executive flats which are bigger, and Design, Build and Sell Scheme flats developed and sold by private developers.
More: Are million-dollar HDB flats becoming the norm?
Data from the Housing Board website shows that the 1,259 sq ft flat is located in Block 18C between the 37th and 39th floors. It has a remaining lease of 93 years.
While the original price is not known, the HDB block was built under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme, which gives buyers the opportunity to purchase replacement flats at favourable prices.
Holland Drive is close to the Buona Vista and Holland Village MRT stations. Several supermarkets and malls such as The Star Vista and Holland Road Shopping Centre are also nearby.
Other recent HDB transactions in Queenstown involving 5-room flats that breached the million-dollar mark include a 1,216 sq ft unit at Block 23 Ghim Moh Link that sold for over $1.02 million in April, and a 1,259 sq ft flat at Block 50 Commonwealth Drive which changed hands for over $1.038 million a month before.
Known for its iconic design, Pinnacle @ Duxton in the city centre holds the record for having the most expensive 5-room HDB flat. Built in 2009, the 1,151 sq ft higher floor unit in Block 1B with a remaining lease of 91 years was resold in March for $1.145 million.
Such dizzying prices are sometimes seen in mature housing estates due to their good locations and other attributes such as unblocked views, but are not common in the overall HDB resale market.
In fact, HDB resale prices have declined for six consecutive quarters, falling 0.8 percent in Q1 2018. This is greater than the 0.2 percent decrease in the previous quarter.
Property agency ERA Realty expects HDB resale prices to remain flat in 2018.
“Any price increase or decrease is likely to be very moderate and would not exceed 1.5 percent for the full year,” said Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Realty.
Find HDB flats for sale in Queenstown or read our HDB guides. Can you afford a million-dollar HDB flat? Check your affordability now.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
