After the sale of a five-room flat in the nearby Block 9 for $1,185,000 Sgd in January, HDB’s resale price was quite stable. In July, it even saw a drop at 0.2 percent. However, it set a new record this month with the sale of another five-room flat at Boon Keng. It sold at $1,205,000 which is $5000 more than the January sale.
The analysts are of the opinion that this record price has been paid because of the sheer quality of the location. The flat, situated at the Boon Tiong Road at Tiong Bahru, is a part of a comparatively new settlement situated amidst old and reputable estate. The communication facility is also mention-worthy, as two MRT stations are nearby. The downtown line and the North East line, both are easily accessible through Bendemeer and Boon Keng respectively.
Christine Sun, the Head of Research and Consultancy at the Orange Tee and Tie (a Property Agency of repute), explains the reason behind the record price by saying that old flats and estates are soon losing their value. The buyers are now interested in newer developments. The newer the flat is, the more money it brings. This clearly explains the reason behind the high price of the five-room Boon Keng Flat. Newer flat buildings are also high rise and the higher the apartments are, the higher the price goes. People are ready to pay money for a good view of the city from the balcony. This flat is situated in 39thfloor of the building offers a nice view of the city.
Although flat sale business is uncertain and many agency is losing grounds because of the rising competition in the market, HDB seems to have held its ground. Even in July, their resale prices were down by 0.2 percent in comparison to the month of June. Mature estate prices as in the prices of old flats fell by 0.8 percent whereas the price of newer flats rose by 0.2 percent. This statistics bears testimony of what the buyers want. The prices of three room flats also fell by 0.9 percent while the prices of five room flat dropped by 0.1 percent. However, HDB has clearly bounced back with the sale of this five-room Boon Keng flat. These statistics are provided by SRX.
It is being increasingly evident that those flats that promise a city view is becoming pricy. The Block 9 flats were sold in a high price because of the same reason. About five out of the nine flats in that area garnered more than a million dollars. However, Nicholas Mak, the Head of Research and Consultancy at ERA Realty, warns that even though flats are being sold by million dollars these days, these are rare occasions. The market is not as easy as it seems.
The companies should perhaps follow HDB’s footsteps and be smart about the location and age of the flat they are selling.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/boon-keng-5-room-hdb-flat-sells-for-record-12-million
City-fringe development
