Low-floor maisonette at Potong Pasir sets record as Toa Payoh's most expensive executive flat at $1.24m

It's been happening more frequently lately - executive (EXE) apartments hitting new all-time high in Singapore's property market. The latest record-breaker? A low-floor maisonette at Potong Pasir in Toa Payoh estate, which has just sold for an impressive S$1.24 million.

This sale makes it the most expensive EXE in Toa Payoh at the moment. What makes this sale particularly noteworthy isn't just the price tag, but the fact that the unit is located on one of the first three floors — an unusual feature for a record-setting transaction.

The $1.24m maisonette is 41 years old

The unit is located in Block 133 on Potong Pasir Avenue 1, within a low-rise project. The maisonette spans a generous 1,733 square feet, which works out to a price of S$716 per square foot (psf).

Not bad, right? But here's the catch: the lease on this unit started in 1984, meaning there are only about 58 years and seven months left.

While this isn't the shortest lease we've seen for a million-dollar HDB resale unit — another example being an HDB Terrace that sold with just 52 years left - it's definitely on the shorter side for EXEs.

Block 133, Potong Pasir Avenue 1: Location review

You might be wondering about the location. Well, Block 133 on Potong Pasir Avenue 1 is quite well-situated, with three MRT stations nearby. Potong Pasir MRT (NE10) is just a 7-minute walk away, while Woodleigh MRT (NE11) is a 13-minute walk or a quick 3-minute drive.

When it comes to grocery shopping, you won't be disappointed. A quick 3-minute walk takes you to an NTUC Fairprice at the Potong Pasir Community Club. For more options, an 8-minute drive via the Pan Island Expressway will bring you to a Giant in Kim Keat Avenue, or a Sheng Siong Hypermarket in Lorong 7 Toa Payoh.

And if shopping or entertainment is on your mind, there are plenty of malls within a short driving distance. The Poiz Centre is just 6-minutes walk away, while the Woodleigh Mall is just 4-minutes drive away.

Within an 8 to 10 minute drive, you can also reach City Square Mall, Toa Payoh Hub, Grantral Mall @ Macpherson, Zhongshan Mall, and Aperia Mall.

The area around Block 133 is also ideal for families, with a range of childcare and educational facilities nearby. For young children, there are several childcare centres within walking distance, including My First Skool, a mere 37 metres from the block and Little Seeds Preschool, which is 305 metres away.

For kindergarten-aged children, you have PCF Sparkletots Preschool at Potong Pasir, just 133 metres away, and The Ascension Kindergarten, 424 metres from the block.

When it comes to primary schools, Block 133 has two within a 1-kilometre radius — Cedar Primary School and St Andrew's Junior School. If you're open to schools a bit further away (within 1 to 2 kilometres), you'll find several more options, including Bendemeer Primary School, Canossa Catholic Primary School, First Toa Payoh Primary School, Hong Wen School, Kheng Cheng School, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School, Maris Stella High School, Pei Chun Public School, St. Gabriel's Primary School, and Yangzheng Primary School.

For older students, St. Andrew's Junior College is just a 4-minute walk away, offering easy access for those in tertiary education.

Outdoor enthusiasts will also appreciate the proximity to parks. With just 7-minutes walk, there is a Kallang Park Connector from Potong Pasir that will bring you all the way to Kallang Riverside Park. Otherwise, you can enjoy a quick 5-minute drive to Bidadari Park.

The last record holders were units in Toa Payoh Palm Spring

Before this recent sale, the title of the most expensive EXE unit in Toa Payoh was held not by one, but by two different units in Toa Payoh Palm Spring. These units were sold for S$1.239 million and S$1.212 million, respectively.

The first of these record holders was a unit on the 13th to 15th floor of Block 99C, Lorong 2 Toa Payoh. This 1,604 square foot EXE apartment sold in April this year for S$1.212 million, with a price psf of S$755.

Then, in early August, another sale in the same block caught attention. This time, a slightly smaller unit, somewhere between floors 7 to 9, sold for S$1.239 million. This 1,593 square foot unit fetched a higher psf of S$777.

While the price difference between the S$1.24 million and the two from Toa Payoh Palm Spring sales are minimal, ranging from 0.08 per cent to 2.26 per cent, the real trade-off comes in terms of unit size and lease duration. Both units from Toa Payoh Palm Spring are smaller than the current record holder at Block 133, but they come with a longer lease of 67 years. This is 15 years longer than the S$1.24 million sale at Potong Pasir Avenue 1.

These three sales — two from Toa Payoh Palm Spring and the current S$1.24 million transactio — are the only EXE units in Toa Payoh that have crossed the S$1.2 million mark.

However, they are not the only high-value transactions in the area. Toa Payoh has seen a total of 22 EXE sales that have reached or surpassed the S$1 million mark.

Of these, 10 are from Toa Payoh Palm Spring, while 11 are from other blocks in the same area as the S$1.24 million sale. Interestingly, like the recent record-breaking transaction, all 11 of these sales were for units on lower floors, specifically the 1st to 3rd floors.

Toa Payoh EXE sales trends in the past year

There's been a noticeable 10.54 per cent growth in the prices of executive HDBs in the estate. In 2023, the average price for these units was S$980,716, based on 25 transactions. By 2024, this average price had risen to S$1,084,050 from just 11 transactions.

This means that the buyer of the current S$1.24 million unit paid about S$155,950, or 12.58 per cent higher than the average price despite the shorter lease and lower floor position — and this isn't a single isolated event.

At the pace the market is moving, it's clear that buyers are prioritising unit size (or perhaps locations with potential for future development) over the remaining lease years when making their purchase decisions.

In fact, when just looking at sales trends in Block 133, Potong Pasir Avenue 1, while there was only one sale back in 2022 and another with the recent S$1.24 million transaction, the price growth between these two sales is 37.78 per cent. Meaning that despite the lease only decreasing over the two years, the price still grew substantially.

This trend isn't limited to Toa Payoh alone. There have been 3,042 HDB resale transactions in the first half of 2024 that involved older flats (at least 40 years old). This figure surpasses the previous half-yearly record of 2,412 transactions, set in the first half of 2023.

Christine Sun, the chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee, has noted that the total number of transactions involving older flats is on track to set a new record this year. The first half of 2024 already accounts for 64 per cent of the previous yearly high, which was set last year when 4,750 older flats were sold.

This growing interest in older, larger units, despite their shorter leases, suggests that the market is evolving.

Buyers seem to be weighing the benefits of spacious living areas and potential long-term value over the immediate concern of lease duration. This trend might continue to drive up prices, especially in well-located estates like Toa Payoh, where property values are already on the rise.

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This article was first published in 99.co.