The number of million-dollar flat sales has been on an upward trend in the last couple of years, with 259 transactions recorded in 2021 and 369 transactions in 2022.
As of 19 July 2023, 225 HDB resale flats have breached the million-dollar mark.
More HDB resale flats in the suburbs were sold for at least S$1m from 2022 onwards
Since the first million-dollar flat transaction in 2012, we have observed that million-dollar HDB resale flats generally share a few common traits, such as a huge size, rarity of unit type and centralised location. It is no longer uncommon to find them in HDB estates such as Central area, Bishan, Queenstown, Toa Payoh and Bukit Merah.
It was only last year that we saw more million-dollar flats being located in the Outside Central Region (OCR), as more HDB towns (mature and non-mature estates) enter the million-dollar-flat club. These include Yishun, Woodlands, Punggol, Pasir Ris and Jurong East.
Previously, Hougang was the only HDB town in the suburbs that had clocked a million-dollar flat sale, for a maisonette in 2018. It took four years before another HDB resale flat in the OCR breached the million-dollar mark.
In February 2022, an Executive flat in Yishun changed hands for S$1.038 million, heralding more million-dollar flat sales in the suburbs.
Only 5 HDB estates have not entered the million-dollar flat club
As of writing, there are only five HDB towns that have yet to record a million-dollar HDB flat sale.
In OrangeTee & Tie’s market report on HDB resale trends in Q2 2023, Christine Sun, the agency’s Senior Vice President of Research and Analytics, highlighted these HDB estates: Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West, Sembawang and Sengkang.
Here are the all-time high prices of HDB resale flats in the respective estates, as of writing (19 July):
| HDB town | Highest transacted price | Flat type | Date of transaction |
| Bukit Panjang | S$965k | Executive maisonette | Feb 2023 |
| Choa Chu Kang | S$900k | Executive premium maisonette (for both) | Jan 2018, Nov 2019 |
| Jurong West | S$920k | Executive jumbo flat | May 2023 |
| Sembawang | S$795k | Executive maisonette | Feb 2023 |
| Sengkang | S$945k | 5-room premium apartment | Jul 2023 |
In the report, Sun noted that Bukit Panjang, Jurong West and Sengkang may see their first $1 million flat soon since there have been flats sold above S$900,000 in these estates.
With that, we examined which of these three towns has the highest likelihood of recording a million-dollar flat sale soon.
Which of these HDB towns will be next to record a S$1m sale?
We analysed the highest transacted prices in the respective estates to predict the next HDB town to enter the million-dollar-flat club.
Jurong West
As of writing, there is only one HDB resale flat transaction breaching the S$900,000 mark in Jurong West.
A 148 sqm (1,593 sqft) jumbo flat at Blk 516 Jurong West Street 52 was sold for S$920,000 earlier in May 2023. The block is around an eight-minute walk of Lakeside MRT.
The next four highest transacted prices in the estate range from S$858,000 to S$870,000, with the top three sales being maisonettes spanning at least 1,600 sqft.
Meanwhile, the S$858,000 transaction is for a 5-room DBSS flat in Lake Vista.
| Date | Address | Flat type | Size (sqft) | Price | Price psf | TOP |
| May 2023 | 516 Jurong West Street 52 | Executive jumbo flat | 1,593 | S$920,000 | S$577 | 1984 |
| Jun 2023 | 469 Jurong West Street 41 | Executive maisonette | 1,690 | S$870,000 | S$514 | 1985 |
| Feb 2023 | 469 Jurong West Street 41 | Executive maisonette | 1,625 | S$868,000 | S$534 | 1985 |
| Apr 2023 | 469 Jurong West Street 41 | Executive maisonette | 1,690 | S$860,000 | S$508 | 1985 |
| Dec 2022 | 138C Yuan Ching Road | 5-room DBSS | 1,163 | S$858,000 | S$737 | 2014 |
Based on these transactions, there is a higher likelihood that the first million-dollar flat in Jurong West will be an executive flat. Prices of executive flats in the estate have been on an upward trend in the last couple of years, with yearly price increases of 9.18% in 2021, 9.68% in 2022 and 7.22% year-to-date.
Upcoming developments in Jurong, namely the Jurong Lake District, Jurong Innovation District and Tuas Port, will help support the demand and price of homes in the estate.
However, given that there is only one transaction that has crossed the S$900,000 mark in Jurong West, it will take some time before we see an HDB resale flat breaching the million-dollar mark.
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Sengkang
The highest HDB resale flat transaction in Sengkang is currently S$945,000, for a 112 sqm (1,206 sqft) 5-room premium flat at Blk 216A Compassvale Drive that was recently sold this month.
Since August 2022, there have been nine transactions in Sengkang that have breached the S$900,000 mark.
All but one are 1,206 sqft 5-room premium flats from Compassvale Mast BTO, which is conveniently located within a 10-minute walk of Compass One and Sengkang MRT. The BTO is also within a 1km radius of the popular Nan Chiau Primary School.
| Date | Address | Flat type | Size (sqft) | Price | Price psf | TOP |
| Jul 2023 | 216A Compassvale Drive | 5-room premium apartment | 1,206 | S$945,000 | S$783.58 | 2017 |
| May 2023 | 216A Compassvale Drive | 5-room premium apartment | 1,206 | S$935,000 | S$775 | 2017 |
| Feb 2023 | 216C Compassvale Drive | 5-room premium apartment | 1,206 | S$928,000 | S$769 | 2017 |
| Nov 2022 | 216A Compassvale Drive | 5-room premium apartment | 1,206 | S$928,000 | S$769 | 2017 |
| Apr 2023 | 216A Compassvale Drive | 5-room premium apartment | 1,206 | S$922,000 | S$764 | 2017 |
| Mar 2023 | 217C Compassvale Drive | 5-room premium apartment | 1,206 | S$905,000 | S$750 | 2017 |
| Aug 2022 | 205A Compassvale Lane | Executive | 1,539 | S$900,000 | S$584.80 | 1999 |
| Apr 2023 | 215B Compassvale Drive | 5-room premium apartment | 1,206 | S$900,000 | S$746 | 2017 |
| Apr 2023 | 217B Compassvale Drive | 5-room premium apartment | 1,206 | S$900,000 | S$746 | 2017 |
On top of that, the project was completed in 2017. This means the owners have finished their five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) recently, allowing them to sell their flats on the resale market.
Prices during its launch in the November 2012 HDB BTO exercise ranged from S$421,000 to S$499,000. For the owners of the S$945,000 sale, this would translate to a capital gain of S$446,000 to S$524,000.
Meanwhile, a million-dollar price tag for a 5-room flat at Compassvale Mast would give the owners a capital gain of S$501,000 to S$579,000.
Since entering the HDB resale market in 2021, 5-room resale flats at the BTO project have seen yearly price increases of 8.8% in 2022 and 12.82% year-to-date. We expect home prices in the project to grow as more people look for homes near the MRT, mall and popular primary schools.
Moreover, most of the highest transacted prices in Sengkang come from Compassvale Mast. Therefore, it is highly likely that the first million-dollar flat in the estate will be a 5-room flat from the BTO project.
A unique selling point is that the 5-room flats in the project are premium flats, which come with a full-height window in the living/dining area and three-quarter height windows in the bedrooms. This is not commonly seen in typical BTO flats.
Big HDB flats for sale in Sengkang
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Bukit Panjang
As of writing, the highest transacted price for an HDB resale flat in Bukit Panjang is S$965,000, for a 142 sqm (1,528 sqft) maisonette at Blk 544 Jelapang Road. The unit was transacted earlier this year in February.
Similar to Sengkang, Bukit Panjang has seen nine HDB resale flat transactions worth at least S$900,000 since August 2022. One main difference is that they are all executive flats, measuring at least 1,300 sqft.
| Date | Address | Flat type | Size (sqft) | Price | Price psf | TOP |
| Feb 2023 | 544 Jelapang Road | Executive maisonette | 1,528 | S$965,000 | S$631 | 1999 |
| Aug 2022 | 181 Jelebu Road | Executive premium apartment | 1,367 | S$960,800 | S$702.85 | 2003 |
| Mar 2023 | 181 Jelebu Road | Executive premium apartment | 1,367 | S$950,000 | S$694 | 2003 |
| Aug 2022 | 542 Jelapang Road | Executive maisonette | 1,528 | S$950,000 | S$621 | 1999 |
| Oct 2022 | 544 Jelapang Road | Executive | 1,528 | S$938,000 | S$613.87 | 1999 |
| Jan 2023 | 543 Jelapang Road | Executive maisonette | 1,528 | S$935,000 | S$611 | 1999 |
| Jul 2023 | 180 Lompang Road | Executive apartment | 1,410 | S$930,000 | S$659 | 2002 |
| Dec 2022 | 135 Cashew Road | Executive maisonette | 1,615 | S$928,000 | S$574 | 1988 |
| Oct 2022 | 184 Jelebu Road | Executive premium apartment | 1,335 | S$920,000 | S$689.14 | 2003 |
On closer inspection of these transactions, we noted that apart from Blk 135 Cashew Road, all the blocks are located within walking distance of a train station (namely Senja LRT and Bukit Panjang MRT).
The area is also not short of retail amenities, with three malls (Junction 10, Hillion Mall and Bukit Panjang Plaza) located within walking distance of these blocks.
Meanwhile, executive flat prices in Bukit Panjang have been on an upward trend in the last three years, with yearly prices up by 13.75% in 2021, 7% in 2022 and 6.61% year-to-date.
The opening of the Downtown Line in Bukit Panjang has certainly increased connectivity for residents, making the estate more attractive for those looking for a more affordable home.
More importantly for homeowners, among the five HDB towns, only Bukit Panjang has recorded HDB resale flat transactions worth at least S$950,000. With that, we expect Bukit Panjang to be the next HDB town to record a million-dollar sale soon.
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