We’re living in an age of million-dollar HDBs in neighborhoods from Tampines to Bedok, and even Yishun. Yet, we aren’t immune to the steadily rising prices of resale flats and record-breaking HDB sales in non-mature estates still shock us all the same.
Just this November, it was reported that a 5-room HDB flat that recently hit its Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP) in Canberra Walk sold for a new high of $745K. Let’s dive into the details of the sale and possible future price trends.
Sellers raked in $400K profit from sale
A 5-room resale flat at Canberra Walk.
Image for illustration only.
Image credit: Lome Interior
The unit in question is part of EastLawn @ Canberra in block 108C on Canberra Walk and has a healthy 94 years and 7 months left on the lease. At 113sqm (1,216sqft), the flat is as big as new BTO units get and it’s situated on a relatively high floor. Its $745K transacted price marks an all-new high for 5-rooms flats in the area.
But perhaps what’s more shocking about this one sale is the fact that the homeowners pocketed an incredulous estimated profit of $400K from the sale, which is more than a 100% return on investment.
108C Canberra Walk where the unit was situated.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
In terms of attractiveness, there’s not much that stands out about the location of this flat other than having a Sheng Shion outlet right across the road and Canberra Plaza and Canberra MRT Station just 1km away. On the up side, Canberra Walk is just a 22-minute walk away from Sembawang Park and a 2.4km walk to Sembawang Hot Spring Park for some “onsen vibes”.
Image credit: TheSmartLocal
Other newly MOP-ed 5-room flats sold for >$700K
Image credit: @garlicwaye
Since hitting its MOP, Canberra Walk has clocked in a total of 6 HDB sales of 5-room flats with prices starting from $688K, which is still an astronomical leap from its original launch price range of $315K-$375K.
Image adapted from: HDB
All of these have been high-floor units, which might have some contribution to the transacted price. With profits this attractive, we might soon see a surge of Canberra Walk homes being listed for sale with homeowners looking to jump on the cash train and trade up.
Worrying precedent for resale flats in non-mature estates
It’s quite normal to expect to pay a premium for a resale flat in a mature estate dense with amenities such as Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio, but when non-mature HDB towns such as Canberra start joining the fray with “mature estate prices”, it opens a can of worms by setting a worrying precedent for resale flats in other “regular” neighbourhoods.
Latest transactions for units in other newly MOPed projects in Canberra.
Image adapted from: HDB
The issue here is that such prices and profits only serve to fuel the flipping culture in Singapore, where public housing is then seen as an asset to profit from at the detriment of future generations.
5-room Sengkang resale flat sells for $800K
Image adapted from: HDB
A quick look at the latest transactions of 5-room HDBs in the non-mature HDB town of Sengkang show that a 113sqm flat with 92 years left of the lease sold for an even higher price of $800K, which proves that the problem of overly inflated resale prices are upon us and the newly imposed cooling measures haven’t done much to curb them.
The government might have addressed this issue for flats situated on prime plots of land such as Keppel and Bugis with the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model, but they’ll have to think up new measures to prevent Singaporeans from gunning for any new BTO in hopes of profiting from it after 5 years.
If resale prices keep rising, prospective buyers looking to skip the wait for a BTO and purchase a fairly new flat will be at the mercy of inflation and have to fork out a lot more to even afford a home that can move into immediately.
Read our other articles here:
- Potong Pasir HDB Executive Maisonette sells for $1.05M
- Clementi & Sembawang among most expensive & cheapest resale flats in Q2 2022
- Prime Location Public Housing (PLH): what does it mean?
Cover image adapted from: garlicwaye
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