Record number of 4-room HDB resale flats sold for at least $1m in Q1 2023: Here's where to find them
PHOTO: 99.co
PUBLISHED ONApril 06, 2023 6:40 AMByVirginia Tanggono
TODAY recently reported that a record number of 4-room flats were sold for at least $1 million in the first quarter of 2023.
Citing Wong Siew Ying, Head of Research and Content at PropNex Realty, the article highlighted that the number of 4-room flats transacting for at least $1 million (21) is three times the number sold in the same period last year.
In fact, last year saw 38 of such flats changing hands.
It seems like 4-room flats selling for at least a million dollars is a rising trend.
According to Christine Sun, Senior Vice President of Research and Analytics at OrangeTee and Tie, the number of million-dollar 4-room flats has increased on a quarterly basis. Q3 2022 saw six 4-room million-dollar flats sold, before rising to 13 units in Q4 2022.
The same trend is observed when we look at the proportion of 4-room flats sold per month in the last quarter, based on the 99.co-SRX flash reports.
For instance, out of the 40 million-dollar flats sold in January, seven were 4-room flats, comprising 17.5 per cent of the $1 million flat sales.
The proportion increased to 20.8 per cent in February, when five of the 24 million-dollar flats sold in the month were 4-room flats.
Last month, nearly a quarter of the million-dollar flats (23.1 per cent, or 9 out of 39) were 4-room flats. This is also a monthly record for the number of 4-room flats sold for at least a million dollars.
With that, we at 99.co have compiled a list of HDB projects that have recorded million-dollar 4-room flat transactions so far.
Those marked with an asterisk (*) are also the all-time high prices in the estate for the flat type, as of writing.
| Project name | HDB estate | Lease commence date | No. of 4-room units sold ≥ S$1m so far | No. of 4-room units sold ≥ S$1m in Q1 2023 | Highest transacted price for 4-room in the project | Highest transacted price for 5-room in the project |
| Pinnacle @ Duxton | Central area | 2011 | 96 | 9 | $1.37m*
Oct 2022 Current record for most expensive 4-room HDB resale flat nationwide |
$1.4m*
March 2023 |
| SkyTerrace @ Dawson | Queenstown | 2016 | 5 | 2 | $1.19m*
Feb 2023 |
$1.418m*
Jul 2022 Current record for most expensive HDB resale flat nationwide |
| Tiong Bahru View | Bukit Merah | 2016 | 16 | 2 | $1.158m*
Jun 2022 |
$1.29m
Feb 2023 |
| Blk 43 Moh Guan Terrace | Bukit Merah | 1973 | 1 | 0 | $1.088m
Aug 2020 |
No 5-room |
| Natura Loft | Bishan | 2011 | 2 | 1 | $1.075m*
Feb 2023 |
$1.39m*
Mar 2023 |
| Kallang Trivista | Kallang/ Whampoa | 2017 | 1 | 1 | $1.069m*
Mar 2023 |
$1.23m
Jun and Aug 2022 |
| Toa Payoh Crest | Toa Payoh | 2018 | 4 | 1 | $1.05m*
Feb 2023 |
No 5-room |
| Buona Vista Court | Queenstown | 2012 | 1 | 1 | $1.05m
Jan 2023 |
$1.21m
May 2021 |
| City Vue @ Henderson | Bukit Merah | 2019 | 4 | 1 | $1.04m
Mar 2023 |
$1.4m*
May 2022 |
| Ghim Moh Edge | Queenstown | 2018 | 2 | 0 | $1.04m
Dec 2022 |
No 5-room |
| Havelock View | Bukit Merah | 2013 | 1 | 1 | $1.01m
March 2023 |
$1.245m
Oct 2021 |
| The Peak @ Toa Payoh | Toa Payoh | 2012 | 1 | 1 | $1m
March 2023 |
$1.35m*
Aug 2022* |
| Bendemeer Light | Kallang/ Whampoa | 2017 | 2 | 1 | $1m
Jan 2023 and June 2022 |
No 5-room |
Unlike the other 4-room million-dollar flats transacted so far though, the Moh Guan Terrace transaction is an outlier. While it's considered a very old flat (it had a remaining lease of 51 years five months when it was sold), perhaps one main reason is because it's an adjoined flat with a floor area of 1,410 sq ft that led to the high price.
(We talked more about the possible reasons here.)
And here are all-time high prices of 4-room flats that have crossed the million-dollar mark in their respective estates
| Project name | HDB estate | Size (sq ft) | Transacted price | Price psf | Transacted date |
| Pinnacle @ Duxton | Central area | 1,001 | $1.37m | $1,369 | Oct 2022 |
| SkyTerrace @ Dawson | Queenstown | 1,023 | $1.19m | $1,163 | Feb 2023 |
| Tiong Bahru View | Bukit Merah | 936 | $1.158m | $1,237 | June 2022 |
| Natura Loft | Bishan | 1,023 | $1.075m | $1,050 | Feb 2023 |
| Kallang Trivista | Kallang/ Whampoa | 1,023 | $1.069m | $1,045 | March 2023 |
| Toa Payoh Crest | Toa Payoh | 1,001 | $1.05m | $1,049 | Feb 2023 |
Reasons why there are 4-room HDB resale flats breaching the million-dollar mark
Compared to the other million-dollar flats sold so far (such as jumbo flats and executive apartments, which are bigger than typical HDB flats), size is probably less of a factor for these buyers.
For instance, the most expensive 4-room flat in Pinnacle@Duxton (and nationwide) was sold at an eye-watering price of $1,369 psf. This is $142 psf higher than the $1,227 psf for the most expensive 5-room flat in the same project.
Central location and remaining lease seem to be the bigger factors driving up the prices. While most of the 4-room flats are located at Pinnacle@Duxton that's situated in the heart of Tanjong Pagar, the other flats are also located in popular city-fringe locations such as Dawson, Tiong Bahru, Kallang, Toa Payoh and Bishan.
Except for the Moh Guan Terrace flat, these flats have at least 85 years of remaining lease when they were sold, meaning they are still relatively new and in good condition.
What's more, excluding Toa Payoh Crest and Bendemeer Light, these projects are where we usually find 5-room million-dollar flat sales.
Compounding this is the temporary measure aimed at private property owners aged 55 and above to cool down the HDB resale market, who aren't subjected to the 15-month wait if they go for a 4-room flat or smaller. With the sale proceeds of their private properties, they may be more willing (and financially capable) to pay for such a high price to live in a central location.
More importantly, HDB has no longer built new 5-room flats in central locations such as Queenstown, Bukit Merah, Kallang and Toa Payoh. Likewise, the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model has stricter eligibility requirements for resale flats, such as the 10-year MOP and income ceiling.
These may have also pushed buyers who want to live in a relatively new HDB flat in these popular central locations to pay such a high price for a 4-room flat in these projects.
