PUBLISHED ONJune 08, 2024 4:01 AMByKhoo Yi-HangA five-room flat in City Vue @ Henderson has been sold for a whopping $1.588 million.
According to HDB's website, the Bukit Merah flat sits at 113 sqm (1,216 sq ft) between the 46th and 48th storey of block 96A Henderson Road. At $1.588 million, the property costs about $1,306 psf.
The resale was registered in June and the flat still has 94 years left in its remaining lease.
The flat also has amenities within its proximity - a child care centre is about 142m away, with the Henderson community centre about 247m from the block.
There's also a kindergarten about 336m from the flat, as well as two hawker centres - Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre (257m) and Redhill Food Centre (383m). Redhill Market is about 372m away.
At $1.588 million, this flat shares the same price tag as the five-room flat in Tiong Bahru that was sold in April, breaking the record for the highest resale price.
The previous record was set at $1.569 million for a five-room DBSS (Design, Build and Sell Scheme) flat at 139A Lorong 1A Toa Payoh in January this year.
Comparatively, the Boon Tiong Road flat is 112 sqm (1,205 sq ft), slightly under its Bukit Merah counterpart.
It sits on the 35th floor with a 99-year lease which commenced in January 2016.
Of note, City Vue @ Henderson also held the same record in May 2022 when a five-room flat was sold for $1.4 million.
That flat is located on the 41st floor of block 96A - the same block as this $1.588 million flat - and had undergone over $200,000 in renovations by its previous owners.
Speaking with Edgeprop, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia Lee Sze Teck said that there are 349 million-dollar flat transactions so far this year.
At present, the HDB resale market could reach over 700 million-dollar resale flat transactions by the end of the year, Lee added.
He also stated: "The higher number of flats sold for a million dollars and more could be due to buyers looking for flats that do not have resale restrictions and could be in demand in the future."
In April, Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah said that flats that have gone for more than $1 million remain a minority of HDB resale transactions.
"Every year there are approximately 28,000 resale transactions," she said in a speech at the Huttons Gala Awards that month. "More than eight in 10 first-time homebuyers are able to service their HDB loans using their CPF with little or no cash payments."
She added: "We are committed to ensuring that HDB flats remain affordable and accessible."
Speaking in parliament in October 2020, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said that million-dollar flats are in fact a "small minority" of flats that are sold in the resale market.
He also stated that some HDB flats transacting at more than $1 million may have given some people the impression that there is "very, very high demand" overall and that prices are escalating significantly.
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