Living by East Coast Park is a proposition that will interest many. But be prepared to fork out a premium as property in this area ain't cheap, especially those sea-facing ones.

This applies to HDB flats too.

A five-room flat on a high floor at Block 28 Marine Crescent was sold for $1,010,888 this month, making it the first million-dollar HDB resale transaction in the Marine Parade estate.

What's eye-catching about this deal isn't so much the price given how million-dollar HDB flats are becoming common these days but the relatively short 51 years left on its lease. 

Propnex property agent Colin Wong, one of the brokers for this deal, told AsiaOne that despite the short lease, "this property flew off the market in a week from our first viewing".

He describe how that high floor unit had a view of the sea from every room, including the kitchen.

He added that only two groups of potential buyers actually managed to view this 126 sqm property before the sellers issued an option to the buyers.  

"In between, we received over 30 enquiries which shocked us. The demand was high," he told AsiaOne. 

This unit is located on the 24th floor of this 25-storey block, reported The Straits Times today. 

The buyers who eventually bought the place, said Colin, are a Singaporean couple planning for retirement.

They were fascinated by the all-round views of the sea and the proximity to East Coast Park, he said.

Colin told AsiaOne that many of the buyers he encountered who are keen on an old resale HDB flat in Marine Parade are not deterred by the relatively short lease. 

"Most of them are looking to downsize from a landed or condominium to a retirement home by the sea, so an ageing lease was not a major issue," he said. 

He added that even though he advised some of these buyers that they may have to pay well over $1 million for a HDB unit similar to the one that was just sold, "many of them have mentioned to us that it would not be an issue, so long the unit fits their criteria".

Colin said that even "after a few rounds of knocking on doors", he has yet to find another seller interested to let go of their HDB unit at Marine Parade, adding that the supply of HDB flats for sale in that estate is low at the moment.

A check by AsiaOne on HDB's website showed that the highest transacted price for a five-room HDB flat in the Marine Parade estate since last July was $960,000.

That 122 sqm unit, located at Block 1 Marine Terrace, was transacted last October.

On PropertyGuru's website, there are at least three five-room HDB flats in Marine Parade listed for over $1 million currently.

The sellers of the Block 28 unit are a Singaporean couple with three children who bought the unit for roughly $870,000 about 11 years ago, reported The Straits Times. 

One of the sellers added: "We always had absolute faith in our unit and knew we were going to get a good price because of the view, size and location near Tao Nan School."

This block is within 1km of the popular Tao Nan School.

Apart from Marine Parade, there has been a flurry of HDB units in various neighbourhoods around Singapore changing hands for over a million dollars — from Tiong Bahru to Woodlands and Pasir Ris. 

ALSO READ: 2 HDB executive apartments in Yishun cross $1m mark

amierul@asiaone.com

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