A five-room flat in Henderson Road just changed hands for S$1.4 million this month, making it the priciest transaction in the HDB resale market yet.

The unit in Block 96A, at 1,216 square foot (sq ft) in size, is on the 41st floor of the 48-storey block, which gives it panoramic views of the area. The lease commenced in 2019, making it only 3 years old.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research at Huttons, said: “With construction delays due to Covid, this almost-new flat offers the opportunity for buyers to move in fast. It is also rare to have new 5-room flats in mature estates.”

Amenities in the area, which include a market, hawker centre, swimming pool and shopping mall, are seen as draws, and Tiong Bahru MRT station is a 5-minute walk away; Alexandra Primary School is also within walking distance.

Lee said, however, that the S$1.4 million record may well be pipped in the coming months: another 5-room flat on a higher floor in the same block has been listed at S$1.5 million.

Data from the Housing & Development Board (HDB) shows that resale prices rose for the 8th consecutive quarter in Q1 2022, up 2.4 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2021, but slower than the 3.4 per cent clip notched in Q4 2021.

The showing in Q1 was led by demand for larger flats. The median prices of 5-room and executive flats went up 2.6 per cent and 2.8 per cent quarter on quarter respectively. Analysts said that million-dollar HDB flat transactions also continued to give prices a boost, with 82 HDB flats sold for more than S$1 million in the previous quarter.

But even as prices have grown, transaction volumes have fallen, owing to the Chinese New Year festive period as well as the limited stock of resale flats. Transactions declined to 6,934 units, down 12.7 per cent quarter on quarter and 8.5 per cent year on year; for the first time in almost two years, the figure dipped below 7,000 mark.

Most of the quarter’s transactions took place in the Hougang/Punggol/Sengkang, Bukit Batok/Bukit Panjang and Sembawang/Yishun housing estates, with a large number of HDB flats in those areas having fulfilled their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), analysts noted.

Some 31,000 HDB flats are expected to reach the end of their MOP this year, and while this will give supply a lift, the fairly new flats could also command higher prices in the resale market.

Still, property consultants have previously pointed out that the government will be ramping up the supply of public housing in the coming months, which may help take some of the heat off the resale market.

HDB is offering some 5,300 build-to-order (BTO) flats across Bukit Merah, Jurong West, Queenstown, Toa Payoh and Yishun in May. In August, about 6,300 to 6,800 BTO flats in Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East, Queenstown and Woodlands will become available.

Credit: Business Times