The five-room Natura Loft unit sold for $1.36 million, setting a new record for the most expensive HDB flat ever sold.
A five-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Bishan was sold for $1.36 million, just three days after it was listed for sale, reported The Straits Times (ST).
The flat is located within a Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project called Natura Loft.
The sale smashed the previous record of $1.295 million registered by a five-room unit within the same project in July.
It comes days after the Government unveiled a new prime location public housing (PLH) model, which introduces tighter selling and buying conditions on future flats in prime locations in a bid to keep them inclusive and affordable.
Nestled on the 37th floor, the 120 sq m unit is now the most expensive HDB resale flat in Singapore.
PropNex agent Venessa Toh, who brokered the deal, revealed that a virtual Zoom viewing was conducted for five groups of buyers, which was followed up with in-person viewings over three days.
“Buyers who called were very serious and they had done their homework; they knew all the past transactions in the project, including which units sold for how much,” Toh told ST.
Eventually, three groups of serious buyers emerged, and a bidding war ensued.
Although the buyers were initially reluctant to go above the $1.295 million ceiling, the buyers adjusted their offers, with some by up to four times just to outbid the others.
“The three buyers were very aware of the previous record price but once they realised there were others fighting for the same unit as them, they upped their offers before we arrived at the final price of $1.36 million,” said Toh.
ST noted that the sellers – a Singaporean family – were the second owners of the flat and acquired the unit about five years ago.
The three-day turnaround time for the unit came as a surprise even for Toh, who expected the flat to be sold within a month.
“I knew it would be popular because it’s a rare unit, but at the $1.3 million to $1.4 million price tag, not many people can afford it so I wasn’t expecting to close so soon,” she shared.
DBSS projects, which were built by private developers, are characterised by better interior finishes and unique external features. Buyers are subject to the same eligibility criteria and regulations as owners of HDB units.
With only 13 DBSS projects in Singapore, units at these projects are sought after due to their rarity. This comes as the Government has suspended land sales for such projects in 2011.
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Cheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email: cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg.
