4-room unit in Tiong Bahru might have just become Singapore's most expensive resale HDB flat

Despite only having about 49 years left on its lease, one Tiong Bahru HDB flat was recently snapped up by a family of six for an impressive $1.5 million. 

This makes it possibly the most expensive HDB resale flat ever sold to date. 

Previously, the record was held by a five-room HDB flat at SkyTerrace@Dawson that was sold for a high $1.418 million in July last year. 

This four-room unit at Block 50 Moh Guan Terrace was completed way back in 1973 and the caveat lodged in June, Housing Board data showed. 

The property agent who sold the $1.5 million unit, Alvin Yeo from Knight Frank, told AsiaOne that the buyers wanted the unit because of its size and location.

"There is a growing demand for big units in the central area," he said, adding that this 50-year-old unit in particular is a rare one given its size."

The buyer, who declined to be named, told AsiaOne that they needed more space as they have four children. 

This family currently lives in a four-room HDB flat next to Redhill MRT station. 

"We were so spoilt by the convenience of the central location," he said, adding that their other options included buying a condo or a landed property.

However, they decided to stick with a HDB flat as they didn't want to be saddled with a huge loan. 

But what makes this particular HDB flat so special is its size. 

As the unit is amalgamated - a combination of two HDB three-room units - it is a whopping 1,894 sq ft large and has four bedrooms, two toilets, two kitchens and two living rooms. 

A typical HDB five-room flat is usually around 1,200 sq ft large. 

Yeo said: "But once it is amalgamated, one of the addresses will be deleted. And the seller has to sell it as one unit. At this point, any eligible buyer can buy. 

In August 17, 2020, another similar unit at Block 43 Moh Guan Terrace was sold for $1,088,000 with just 51 years of lease left, reported The Straits Times. 

The unit, which started its lease in 1973, is 1,410 sq ft and listed as a four-room flat. It was created by joining two two-room flats.

The property agent who closed the deal, Wong Han Yee, had also said that the flat was a rare gem because of its size and location. 

She added that when the property was put up for sale in the third-quarter of 2019, there were many interested parties, most of them with relatively young families.

Million-dollar flats make up 1% of all resale transactions: Desmond Lee

National Development Minister Desmond Lee had said last November that million-dollar flats make up about one per cent of all resale transactions in the last two years and they tend to have good attributes, such as being jumbo flats, loft units, executive apartments and maisonettes.

Responding to a parliamentary question from Member of Parliament Gerald Giam about the prices of resale flats, Lee also told Parliament in that month that million-dollar flats were "headline grabbing prices" that have caused concern and "fuelled market psychology". 

ALSO READ: Rent for this 4-room HDB flat hits record $6,200

melissateo@asiaone.com

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