June 14, 2007
HDB flat in central S'pore fetches record price
This 5-room HDB flat on the 16th floor of Block 22, Jalan Membina went for a record $675,000. -- MAY LIN LE GOFF
FLUSH with cash from an enbloc sale, a one-time private property owner bought a five-room Housing Board flat for $675,000 this month, setting what is believed to be a record price.
The flat, a 16-storey unit in Jalan Membina, is barely five years old and minutes from Orchard Road. It was sold in a day, without even being valued as the buyer was paying in cash.
Flats are typically valued before a sale as home loans are pegged to them.
The price is believed to have surpassed that achieved during the 1990s property boom. While it is not clear if it can be achieved again, property agent say the deal reflects huge demand for bigger flats in centrally located redeveloped precincts like Tiong Bahru, Queenstown and Toa Payoh.
Many of them are minutes from an MRT station and Orchard Road, command good views because of their high floors, and are far newer than their counterparts in these mature estates.
Private property owners dislodged by recent enbloc sales of see such such flats as good - and relatively cheaper - replacements for condominium units.
They are fast edging out other buyers when these flats surface on the market after five years - the minimum waiting period before a new flat can be resold.
These units can fetch anything from $50,000 onwards in cash above their value.
In the case of the Jalan Membina flat, it is estimated to be worth $550,000 - meaning its buyer paid about $125,000 above its value. Its owners had wanted to sell their flat as it was getting too cramped for the family of eight, said their agent, Mr Joseph Tan from Propnex.
The general view among the 10 property agents polled was that this was a one-off price.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.