The cheapest and most expensive areas in Singapore for HDB resale flats, Money News

PUBLISHED ONMarch 19, 2022 4:30 AMBySHREYA VARADARAJAN Tan Boon Hun

Are you in the process of choosing your next HDB home? If you’re trying to choose between BTO flats and resale flats, the price of the property will be a key factor to consider.

BTO flats generally offer cheaper prices than resale flats. This is especially true now, as resale flats’ prices have been on a consistent upward trend over the past two years.

However, BTO flats also come with long waiting times and the size of BTO flats have reduced over the years. It has also been reported that the prices of certain types of resale flats, such as three-room apartments, have actually dropped slightly last month.

To help you understand the range of prices offered for resale flats across Singapore, we summarise the average prices for resale flats in each area and highlight the areas with the cheapest and the most expensive prices.

Average prices per HDB apartment across Singapore

Here are the average prices per HDB apartment type across all of the 27 HDB towns and estates in Singapore:

	1R	2R	3R	4R	5R	Exec	Multi-Gen
Ang Mo Kio	N.A.	$233,242	$339,311	$494,537	$685,887	$913,941	N.A.
Bedok	N.A.	$252,802	$333,087	$493,370	$623,492	$791,800	N.A.
Bishan	N.A.	N.A.	$382,515	$589,319	$824,825	$979,548	$895,200
Bukit Batok	N.A.	N.A.	$326,235	$457,919	$632,793	$713,299	N.A.
Bukit Merah	$201,428	$277.323	$414,914	$713,572	$816,485	$785,666	N.A.
Bukit Panjang	N.A.	$276,154	$344,076	$456,776	$566,548	$686,606	N.A.
Bukit Timah	N.A.	N.A.	$412,230	$636,241	$863,859	$1,060,937	N.A.
Central Area	N.A.	$273,518	$435,283	$866,802	$1,053,599	N.A.	N.A.
Choa Chu Kang	N.A.	$270,153	$365,126	$456,278	$543,857	$632,060	N.A.
Clementi	N.A.	$335,841	$385,335	$649,349	$757,822	$863,368	N.A.
Geylang	N.A.	$218,965	$326,560	$591,006	$719,225	$834,455	N.A.
Hougang	N.A.	$264,000	$349,032	$476,695	$606,325	$757,031	N.A.
Jurong East	N.A.	$273,222	$337,560	$446,175	$567,137	$758,319	N.A.
Jurong West	N.A.	$267,421	$316,664	$446,206	$519,507	$619,680	N.A.
Kallang/Whampoa	N.A.	$254,833	$397,117	$662,765	$792,819	$846,000	N.A.
Marine Parade	N.A.	$240,000	$393,496	$498,802	$810,222	N.A.	N.A.
Pasir Ris	N.A.	$311,750	$437,803	$496,580	$584,898	$710,523	N.A.
Punggol	N.A.	$283,077	$396,238	$501,268	$585,119	$610,369	N.A.
Queenstown	N.A.	$276,394	$405,763	$762,004	$925,680	$1,110,000	N.A.
Sembawang	N.A.	$272,489	$349,533	$434,392	$504,491	$577,415	N.A.
Sengkang	N.A.	$289,958	$392,725	$486,683	$556,843	$627,906	N.A.
Serangoon	N.A.	$251,666	$349,527	$497,239	$646,846	$850,604	N.A.
Tampines	N.A.	$294,416	$376,470	$496,012	$613,820	$750,791	$760,861
Toa Payoh	N.A.	$237,568	$319,987	$612,014	$811,606	$878,432	N.A.
Woodlands	N.A.	$279,750	$321,468	$424,074	$505,115	$699,713	N.A.
Yishun	N.A.	$264,333	$340,111	$436,059	$562,709	$694,797	$827,857

While four-room and five-room flats are the most common types of flats available, five-room flats have a larger variation in prices as compared to four-room flats. Out of all the different types of HDB flats, three-room flats have the lowest variable in their prices.

This means that if you are looking for a home in a popular location and do not mind a smaller home, a three-room flat might be a feasible option for you.

The three most affordable HDB towns and estates

Based on the table above, the three estates which have the most consistently affordable prices across all apartment types are Jurong West, Sembawang, and Woodlands.

Let’s take a deeper look at each of these estates to give you a better understanding of whether it would be suitable for you.

1. Jurong West

Jurong West has some of the cheapest prices for three-room, five-room, and Executive HDB resale flats in all of Singapore, with its prices for two-room and four-room flats faring at the lower end of the spectrum as well.

As the largest residential estate in the Western region of Singapore, Jurong West is home to up to six shopping malls, two hospitals, and the National University of Singapore. It’s also located near the upcoming Thomson-East Coast MRT line, making it a comfortable location that has well-rounded amenities.

The upcoming Jurong Regional Line is also promising, increasing convenience for travelling within the region.

2. Sembawang

Sembawang offers the cheapest rates for five-room and Executive HDB resale flats, and also has some of the lowest prices for its four-room flats. The prices for its two-room and three-room flats, however, are only around the national average and are not as cheap as their other resale flats.

While Sembawang may not be as well-equipped as other popular HDB estates, it has become better connected with the recently built Canberra MRT station, and also has neighbourhood shopping centres and nature parks.

3. Woodlands

Woodlands has the cheapest four-room resale flat prices and also has highly affordable rates for its three-room and five-room flats that are considerably cheaper than other HDB towns. The prices for its two-room and Executive flats are near the national average.

Woodlands has large shopping centres and is home to several schools such as Republic Polytechnic and the Singapore Sports School. Its connectivity has also been dramatically enhanced with the building of the Thomson East-Coast MRT line.

The three most expensive HDB towns and estates

On the opposite end of the spectrum are these three estates, which generally have the steepest prices for HDB resale apartments: Bukit Timah, Central Area, and Queenstown.

1. Bukit Timah

Bukit Timah has some of the highest prices for five-room and Executive HDB flats. The prices of its three-room and four-room flats are also on the higher end.

In addition to the several schools, shopping centres, and nature parks that it houses, Bukit Timah is also highly well-connected with the Downtown MRT line that directly connects the different areas of this HDB town.

2. Central area

The central area has the highest prices in all of Singapore for four-room and five-room HDB resale flats, with the prices for its three-room resale flats only narrowly missing this mark. The prices for its three-room flats are also above the national average.

The high prices for HDB resale flats in central area are to be expected considering its location in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District. Surrounded by Singapore’s largest shopping centres and bustling office buildings, this HDB town is part of the busiest area in the city.

3. Queenstown

Queenstown’s three-room, four-room, five-room, and Executive HDB resale apartments are all some of the most expensive resale flats in Singapore, and the prices of its two-room flats are well above the average too.

Prices for resale flats in Queenstown have been driven up by the extreme well-connectedness of the area with the East-West MRT line. Another factor is the presence of several primary and secondary schools in the vicinity.

Prices by apartment type

While the estates listed above offer the cheapest or most expensive prices on average, they do not have the most affordable or steepest prices across all types of HDB apartments.

Here are the three cheapest and most expensive options for resale flats in Singapore based on the type of apartment.

Cheapest
2-room flats		3-room flats		4-room flats		5-room flats		Executive
Estate	Prices	Estate	Prices	Estate	Prices	Estate	Prices	Estate	Prices
Ang Mo Kio	$233,242	Jurong West	$316,664	Sembawang	$434,392	Jurong West	$519,507	Jurong West	$619,680
Geylang	$218,965	Toa Payoh	$319,987	Woodlands	$424,074	Sembawang	$504,491	Sembawang	$577,415
Toa Payoh	$237,568	Woodlands	$321,468	Yishun	$436,059	Woodlands	$505,115	Sengkang	$627,906
Most expensive
Clementi	$335,841	Central Area	$435,283	Bukit Merah	$713,572	Bukit Timah	$863,859	Bishan	$979,548
Pasir Ris	$311,750	Pasir Ris	$437,803	Central Area	$866,802	Central Area	$1,053,599	Bukit Timah	$1,060,937
Tampines	$294,416	Queenstown	$405,763	Queenstown	$762,004	Queenstown	$925,680	Queenstown	$1,110,000

Mortgage loans in Singapore

Mortgage loans are a common way to achieve big-ticket purchases like a new home in land-scarce Singapore. For resale flats, you can decide between an HDB loan which allows you to pay monthly with CPF funds or a home loan from banks and loan providers. Depending on your risk appetite, preferred loan tenure and income level, you can find different types of loans available in Singapore that are most suitable for your needs.

Buying a new home is a huge purchase that can kick start the next chapter of your life. Nonetheless, it can be a challenging process that requires a lot of big decision-making. Knowing the cheapest prices offered and the best mortgage loan options available to you can make this process much easier.

Methodology

To calculate the cheapest and most expensive HDB resale rates in Singapore, we looked at the prices of all HDB resale flat transactions made in the 27 HDB towns and estates over the past 12 months. The average cost of each type of resale flat in each HDB town or estate was then derived, and the top three lowest and highest average prices for each type of property were identified as the cheapest and most expensive areas.

This article was first published in ValueChampion.

HDB HDB prices Pricing Property market / sector Property prices property