We’re almost halfway through 2025, and the last 5 months have seen many notable and record-breaking transactions on the resale HDB flat market. Fuelled by a resilient and strong demand for resale flats, coupled with the limited supply of BTO flats hitting MOP, the resale market has been, for many, the most efficient way to owning their own property━especially if they’re looking to move into mature estates.
Prices have, of course, generally gone up, but some have stood out with a higher growth rate━whether it’s because of their prime location, proximity to top schools, or upcoming developments. Here are the top estates that’ve seen the highest surge in resale flat prices in April 2025, and what’s making them so popular:
Prices of resale HDB flats are trending upwards
Image credit: HDB
The proof is in the pudding, and data from HDB corroborates the notion that resale flat prices have been on the uptrend ever since 2021, and April has been no different.
According to property platform 99.co, April saw the same increase in resale prices, with those of flats in mature estates rising by 1%, and non-mature estates a more muted 0.4%. The increase was seen across all flat types except for 5-room resale HDB units; executive flats saw the highest increase.
Year-on-year, April this year saw a 9.3% increase as compared to April 2024, with all unit types seeing similar price growths━the resale prices of 3-room flats rose by 10.2%, 4-room flats by 9.5%, 5-room flats by 8.5%, and executive flats by 6.8%.
April was indeed quite a stellar month for the resale market. According to Head of Research and Content Wong Siew Ying from real estate firm PropNex, April saw 141 HDB flats, which made up 6.1% of the month’s transactions, that were sold for at least $1m. This is actually the highest percentage of million-dollar flats sold in a month, beating the 5% range across the first quarter of 2025, as well as the largest number of million-dollar flats sold in a single month.
Factors contributing to increasing resale HDB prices
Image credit: PaktoProperty
One factor that leads to the increase in resale HDB prices is simply due to supply and demand dynamics. Broadly, the HDB market experiences a regular influx of flats into the market, with new BTOs TOP-ing every year and then 5 years later, hitting their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and entering the resale market. This supply is met with a corresponding demand for flats, and the cycle continues year-on-year.
However, it’s a known fact that the Covid years shook things up quite a bit. Due to the significant delays in construction, many of the BTOs that were supposed to have been completed in 2020-2022 were pushed back. Consequently, these flats, which would have MOP-ed starting this year, will only enter the resale market later, resulting in a drop in the supply of resale HDB flats.
This, coupled with a steady, or even increasing, demand for resale flats, is what has led to the steady uphill climb in terms of resale flat prices.
Additionally, a search online shows that the number of flats expected to reach their MOP in 2025 is only around 6,974 units, which pales in comparison to approximately 11,900 in 2024. This reduced supply tightens the resale market, exerting a greater upward pressure on prices.
Of course, while we are seeing a general increase in resale prices across the board, some estates would understandably do better than others. Perennial favourites like Queenstown and Kallang/Whampoa are shoo-ins due to their prime and central locations, but there are also a couple of other estates that might be somewhat of a surprise.
Resale HDB estates with the highest price growth in April 2025
1. Toa Payoh
Image credit: PropertyGuru
Perhaps surprisingly, Toa Payoh saw a significant number of record-high resale flat transactions in April 2025, beating out erstwhile favourites like Queenstown and Kallang/Whampoa. Within the month, Toa Payoh saw 27 million-dollar transactions, which is 20% of all million-dollar transactions across Singapore for April. The highest recorded transaction was a 5-room flat at The Peak @ Toa Payoh, which sold for $1.49m.
In terms of median resale prices for Toa Payoh, 3-room flats stood at $398k and 4-room flats at $948k in the first quarter of 2025, up from $380k and $950k respectively in 4Q2024, and $380k and $950k in 3Q2024.
One thing to bear in mind is that the Toa Payoh estate is actually quite big. Apart from the main Toa Payoh neighbourhood itself, the estate of Bidadari━which is actually located closer to Potong Pasir and Bartley/Serangoon━is also classified under Toa Payoh.
Bidadari has seen a surge of million-dollar transactions due to its overwhelming popularity, and this is undeniably a key contributor to the overall resale price growth of flats in the Toa Payoh estate.
Toa Payoh itself is also undergoing a transformation, which has increased its appeal in recent times. One pivotal development was the launch of The Orie, which is the first private residential launch in the estate since 2016. The newly-announced Toa Payoh Integrated Development – comprising a sports hall, aquatic center, polyclinic, and library━is also slated for launch by 2030. These are two key highlights in the overall rejuvenation of the mature Toa Payoh estate, which would definitely make it more appealing to homebuyers.
2. Bukit Merah
Image credit: Storefriendly
The next estate with the highest resale price growth in April 2025 is also a bit of an unexpected surprise━Bukit Merah. It is actually quite a small township located in the central region of Singapore, bordering estates such as Queenstown, Tanglin, and the Downtown Core. Bukit Merah wound up second in terms of million-dollar sales in April, with 23 transactions, with the highest transacted sale being a $1.45m, 5-room unit on Henderson Road.
Bukit Merah’s attractiveness as an estate because it is pretty self-explanatory━it’s a central, prime location, with easy accessibility to the CBD and other parts of Singapore. Plus, it’s situated next to estates like Tiong Bahru, Queenstown, and Tanglin, which are perceived to be some of the more atas places to live in Singapore.
However, we believe that one reason for the growing appeal of resale flats in the estate can be chalked up to the introduction of the new classification system of BTO flats. We’ve seen how new BTO estates in the central regions, such as Bukit Merah, have been classified as Plus or even Prime, which means a 10-year MOP, but the new classification and its corresponding sales restrictions do not apply to resale flats.
As such, homebuyers who are looking to stay in these areas would resultingly gravitate towards resale flats, rather than contend with the 10-year MOP that comes with new BTOs. Hence, you would then expect sustained high demand for such resale flats in central estates like Bukit Merah, which would naturally contribute to its growth in resale prices.
3. Queenstown
Image credit: HDB
Of course, no conversation about high resale flat prices can go without mention of Queenstown, which is undeniably a top-tier residential estate here in Singapore. Just last month alone, a 3-room flat at Dawson Road, which is in the Queenstown estate, was sold for $935k, setting the record for the most expensive 3-room resale HDB flat ever transacted. Prior to that, the estate saw the likes of a 5-room flat going for $1.9m, which was another record-breaking transaction on the resale HDB market.
Like Bukit Merah, there isn’t much that needs to be said about the attractiveness of Queenstown. Being located in the Rest of Central Region (RCR), homebuyers here get to enjoy the benefits of being close to the city and central region at slightly more affordable prices as compared to those in the Core Central Region (CCR). The estate in general also provides easy accessibility and connectivity to the CBD and rest of Singapore.
This time around, Queenstown only saw 14 million-dollar transactions in the month of April. While it lost out to the likes of Toa Payoh in terms of the volume of million-dollar transactions, it seems that Queenstown still commands the highest quantum of resale prices, and so nonetheless re-establishes itself as an estate that has seen a high growth rate in resale prices.
4. Kallang/Whampoa
Image credit: HDB
Kallang/Whampoa matched Queenstown’s 14 million-dollar sales transactions in April 2025, and the median prices of flats in this estate have been steadily increasing quarter-on-quarter. In Q1 2025, the median price of 3-room flats here stood at $442k, 4-room flats at $859k, and 5-room flats at $900k.
Being located near the city centre, having well-developed facilities and amenities, and enjoying excellent connectivity via major expressways such as CTE, PIE, and KPE, and accessibility to three MRT lines within the estate are just some of the many reasons why homebuyers continue to favour living in Kallang/Whampoa.
Just like Toa Payoh, the estate actually stretches quite far, comprising areas such as Tanjong Rhu, Nicoll Highway, Farrer Park, and more. For some, the estate is also the embodiment of old-world charm meets modern living, having a strong cultural identity and rich heritage.
Just like Queenstown and Bukit Merah, one likely reason for the surge in demand for resale flats in Kallang/Whampoa is because of the BTO classification of upcoming projects in the estate. As seen from past BTO launches, new HDB projects have either been classified Plus or Prime; because homebuyers don’t want to be tied down with the 10-year MOP, they instead turn to the resale market to secure a home in the estate without having to ballot, wait for the flat to be ready, and commit to such a long period of ownership.
5. Clementi
Image credit: HDB
In April 2025, the estate with the highest resale price growth was Clementi, which saw a remarkable 15.4% increase in prices across Q1 2025.
Situated closer to the Western end of Singapore, Clementi has always been a quietly popular estate━one that doesn’t regularly make headlines for record-high sales transactions, but has historically and consistently pulled strong numbers for resale flat transactions.
Part of its appeal stems from where it’s located fairly close to the central region of Singapore, so connectivity isn’t a concern. The estate boasts the presence of many notable schools and educational institutes, such as Nan Hua Primary, Pei Tong Primary, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and of course, the National University of Singapore. Being a mature estate, there are also plenty of amenities and offerings for residents.
From what we know, the HDB project that has seen the hottest transactions is Clementi Cascadia, located along Clementi Avenue 3. The most expensive transaction within the estate was a 5-room flat which was sold for $1.3m back in June 2024. What made this sale even more remarkable was that the unit is situated on a relatively low floor, between the 4th and 6th levels, which seems to suggest the that buyer prioritised its location over the floor it’s on━units on higher floors are known to command higher prices.
Another possible reason for the rising prices of resale HDB flats in Clementi is because of the limited supply of new flats being built in the estate. Clementi hasn’t really featured in many BTO sales launches as of late, and so there is a scarcity of new flats entering the market. This then leads to homebuyers turning to resale flats.
Interestingly, Clementi will once again feature in the upcoming July 2025 BTO launch, and so we’ll have to wait and see if the increased supply will impact the growth rate of resale prices.
Will resale flat prices continue to climb?
In short, most likely━and that’s only because we’ve yet to see the full supply of delayed BTO flats finally hitting their MOP and bolstering the supply of resale flats in the market. We have seen a lower-than-expected supply of such flats in the past few years, but that will fundamentally shift over the next few years.
While HDB resale flat prices in Singapore are expected to continue rising in 2025, the growth will likely be more measured as compared to previous years. Past trends seem to suggest that prices will finally stabilise in the future, but we can only wait and see if that comes to pass.
For more reads:
- Toh Yi maisonette sells for $1.5m
- Koufu owners buy $58m GCB
- >3,000 flats available in July 2025 SBF exercise
Cover image adapted from: HDB, PropertyGuru
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