Realistic or not? $1.5m listing for HDB loft flat in Punggol leaves experts divided

A five-room loft unit at Block 306D on Punggol Drive has been listed for an eye-watering $1.5 million on Oct 14.

This is significantly higher than the other five roomers in the estate, which went for between $528,000 and $1.2 million in the past year, according to HDB data.

The current home owner had spent around $200,000 to renovate the 1,582 sq ft unit at Treelodge@Punggol, according to the listing on PropertyGuru. 

All blocks at Treelodge have solar panels on its roof top, along with a jogging track and open terrace.

Those blocks are also within walking distance to amenities such as Waterway Point, a community centre and Punggol MRT Station.

Built in 2010, the unit has 85 years on its lease.

There are 14 loft units at Treelodge@Punggol, and one of them was sold for $970,000 back in Nov 2021, reported The Straits Times then.

At that time, there was only one million-dollar transaction in a non-mature estate - a maisonette unit in Hougang that changed hands in Jan 2018.

There were no lofts sold in Treelodge@Punggol in the past year.  

The agent who posted the advertisement did not respond to AsiaOne's request for comment, including on the number of enquiries he has received for the flat.

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'$1 million no longer a target for sellers'

With HDB flat resale prices reaching new highs recently, is the asking $1.5 million price tag realistic?

Heikal Shafrudin, co-founder of Herohomes, told AsiaOne that HDB loft units, a type of premium apartments, are highly sought-after as their bigger space and double-storey height are rare attributes for public housing.

"It's attractive for buyers who are seeking a certain lifestyle and space within their house," he said, noting that flats at Treelodge@Punggol has a strong demand due to its proximity to the MRT station.

As a comparison, there are also other 5-room loft units located at nearby Punggol Sapphire where one was reportedly sold for $1.22 million in 2023. 

But Heikal observed that the listing price of $1.5 million for the Treelodge unit "does not seem realistic".

Interested parties would have to fork out a minimum of $350,000 cash-over-valuation for the flat, he said.

Heikal added this means there's a very small pool of buyers who are willing to spend this amount of cash above the market valuation for a HDB flat.

"It seems like $1 million is no longer a big target to hit for sellers, and those with rare and in-demand features seem to be pushing for $1.5 million," he said.

Flats that cross the million-dollar mark make up about two per cent of all resale transactions over the last 1.5 years, according to figures by the Ministry of National Development and HDB.

Luqman Hakim, chief data officer at 99.co, said that recent HDB price trends suggest that the $1.5 million price tag is realistic. 

He noted that out of the 106 million-dollar resale flat transactions last month, two of them went for more than $1.5 million. 

A loft at Dawson Road went for $1.38 million in August, while another at Punggol Field was sold for $1.23 million. 

"While the current asking price of $1.5 million is slightly higher, the high-quality renovation and move-in ready condition suggest that it could realistically achieve this valuation," said Luqman. 

ALSO READ: HDB resale prices up for 6th straight month - are million-dollar flats to blame? Analysts weigh in

chingshijie@asiaone.com