We’re already well into the second half of 2022, and by now you should know about how the resale HDB market has been buzzing with multiple transactions that have crossed over a million dollars.
Once perceived as an elusive tier that few HDB flats would ever achieve, it’s perhaps safe to say that that ceiling has long been broken. In fact, there have been 66 of such million-dollar transactions in July and August alone, averaging about 83 of such transactions per quarter this year. And there really seems to be no signs of it cooling, with the current third quarter of this year set to breach the quarterly average.
Just in this month alone, it seems that another estate has joined the million-dollar club: Tampines. In fact, this is the very first time Tampines has made the list, joining other recent new entrants like Hougang, Marine Parade and Pasir Ris. We break down the deets and analyse what this means for both Tampines and the broader resale HDB market.
Tampines’ first-ever million-dollar HDB
Image adapted from: HDB
Based on data provided by the HDB’s price checker, Tampines’ first ever million-dollar HDB flat is a 154sqm (1,657sqft) maisonette located at Block 856D Tampines Street 82, somewhere between the 10th and 12th floors. Completed in 1995, the flat has a relatively healthy remaining lease of about 72 years.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
As far as floor area sizes go, this is one of the smaller million-dollar flats sold this year. For instance, the $1.13M Pasir Ris maisonette that sold in May stood at around 189sqm (2,034sqft), and the two Yishun flats sold in May and June were 164sqm (1,765sqft) and 181sqm (1,948sqft), respectively. With that being said, this million-dollar tampines home is still decently larger than your usual 4- or even 5-room HDB flats, and because maisonettes are a dying breed here and in short supply in Singapore, the demand is high.
Interestingly, this $1.013M Tampines flat isn’t even the largest unit that was sold in 2022. There were some equally-sized or larger units (e.g. 1,689sqft) that were sold for under $900K, though we suspect that they were sold for cheaper because they were either located on the lower floors of their blocks, or had shorter remaining leases as compared to our $1.013M one.
Image adapted from: HDB
As we’ve highlighted earlier, the latest $1.013M transaction sets the new record for being the most expensive resale HDB flat transacted in Tampines. The previous record high was a smaller 1,593sqft maisonette located at Block 156 Tampines Street 12 that was sold for $998K, coming just short of the 1-million-dollar mark.
From November 2021 to now, there have been other maisonettes in Tampines that were sold, however they’ve largely hovered around the $900k mark and have shorter remaining leases.
Where is the flat located at?
Undoubtedly, one of the factors that contributed to the flat’s high price has to be its attractive location.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Block 856D is just across the road from Our Tampines Hub, which is Singapore’s largest integrated community and lifestyle hub. The entire complex houses things like food and retail outlets, a supermarket, regional library, and even a football field with stadium seats where Singapore Premier League matches are played. Basically, it has virtually everything that you might possibly need, and the convenience factor certainly plays a big role in determining the flat’s price.
In terms of connectivity options, there are plenty of bus options to get you around Tampines, and also to other places in Singapore. Easties will know that the shopping cluster of Tampines One, Century Square and Tampines Mall is a very vibrant and popular spot for people to either dine or shop at, and this is just a short bus ride or even walk away from Block 856D.
Nearby MRT stations are Tampines (East-West Line) and Tampines West (Downtown Line), both of which are but a short bus ride away as well.
What does this mean for the property market?
Now that Tampines has joined the million-dollar HDB club, it’s perhaps safe to say that we can expect to see other mature estates joining this list. Because executive apartments and maisonettes have been phased out since August 1995, whatever is left in the market is essentially as it is, and so the limited supply of such jumbo units will mean considerably higher prices in the future, especially as demand picks up for such units.
Will we see new entrants join this million-dollar club? Quite possibly, although it will be hard to determine which estates will join this list. Perhaps the next truly groundbreaking milestone would be the next all-time high sale surpassing the current frontrunner of $1.41M at Queenstown, or even when the likes of 5-room or 4-room flats cross that million-dollar mark.
The latter is still a bit of a long shot, but not entirely out of the realm of possibility in the future, especially given the trajectory of property prices in the past two years.
Check out our other articles:
- Over 60 million-dollar HDBs sold in July & August 2022
- Things to know about URA’s 2019 Masterplan
- How my rental flat had 21 occupants without my knowledge
Cover image adapted from: Google Maps, Google Maps
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