Earlier in June this year, you might recall how 2 HDB Executive Apartment flats in Yishun sold for over a million dollars, adding to the growing list of flats in the estate joining the million-dollar club. Now, of course this was something that was previously unheard of, and you’d typically only hear of such record -breaking prices in more sought-after estates like Kallang/Whampoa, Geylang, or even Queenstown.
Well, in just this month alone, Yishun racked up yet another score in terms of a million-dollar sale: this time, a multi-gen flat that was sold for $1.06M. Here’s what we know about the recent transaction.
What are Multi-Generation flats?
Before we dive into the specifics of the recent sale, here’s an explainer on what Multi-Generation flats are.
Multi-Generation flats are named as such because they are designed for that purpose: to house multiple generations together under the same roof. Depending on how old you are, you might remember that they were previously termed “granny flats” back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
A renovated Mujlti-Gen flat in Yishun Street 61.
Image credit: MET Interior
According to online sources, when they were launched in the late 1980s, Multi-Gen flats were going for around $80,000 – $140,000, which is the down payment amount home-buyers currently fork out today.
Image credit: MET Interior
They are basically huge flats, typically constituting a 3-room and studio apartment merged together, resulting in a pretty formidable overall combined floor space of between 1,400-1,700+sqft. They also feature quite a number of rooms, perfect for ensuring plentiful living spaces for the various generations of family members living in them.
Image credit: MET Interior
Comparatively, Multi-Gen flats are generally be larger than your 5-room flat, but not quite as spacious as Executive Apartments.
Today, such flats are now no longer termed Multi-Gen flats. Rather, since 2013 they have been named 3Gen flats in new BTO launches. That’s basically the only real difference; they are still relatively large with an average floor space of over 1,2xxsqft.
Unlike your usual BTO offerings, 3Gen flats have a much stricter application criteria, where the applicants and occupiers have to form a multi-generation family nucleus.
Multi-Generation Flat Sold for $1.06M
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Based on data off HDB, the recent transaction involved a 164sqm (1,765sqft) Multi-Gen Flat located at Blk 666 Yishun Avenue 4, somewhere on floors 10-12. It also has a remaining lease of 64 years. In the last 6 months two other Multi-Generation flats were also sold in Yishun, however their prices were well below the million dollar mark.
Image adapted from: HDB
What’s also worth highlighting is that all the units at Block 666 are all Multi-Gen flats, coming in various floor space sizes of 1,5xxsqft – 1,9xxsqft. Interestingly, the $1.06M sale is not for the largest unit within the block, but it does break the record for having the highest price psf for a Multi-Gen flat in the vicinity, at around $601 psf.
Prior to this, the highest recorded translation for a Multi-Gen flat was back in 2021. Based on our checks, these were Multi-Gen flats in the estates of Tampines and Bishan, and four were sold for prices around $920K-$965K.
Image credit: Prem Goh
Of course, with such a monumental milestone for the block, existing residents were sure to hear of it, and also potentially being tempted to try their luck in getting their units listed for such a high price as well:
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Location wise, the block is pretty well positioned within the Khatib/Yishun estate. Though it is not that near the Yishun Integrated Transport Hub, it is right next to notable places like Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Wisteria Mall.
While the latter pales in comparison to the likes of Northpoint City, it’s still a fairly decent mall with the usual offerings like retail shops, F&B options and also a Fairprice Finest for groceries. There are also quite a number of bus services that ply through the vicinity, and so Block 666 is pretty well connected to other parts of Yishun.
One other contributing factor to the record high transaction price must be attributed to scarcity. Multi-Gen flats are extremely scarce here in Singapore; in fact, they are only found in 7 blocks around Singapore, and more specifically, at the following locales:
- Bishan Street 11 and 12
- Tampines Street 42
- Yishun Street 61
- Yishun Avenue 4
Many homebuyers would naturally want to have a large living space to call home, and so large flats like Executive Apartments, Maisonettes, and of course Multi-Gen flats, will perennially have strong demand in the market.
In addition, due to the nature of such flats, you would essentially have the combined financial power of two parties (e.g. a family and their elderly parents) to bolster their purchasing power. This would inevitably lead to higher prices psf moving forward, at least for Multi-Gen flats.
All in all, the block presents a very compelling case to justify its high selling price, though of course in today’s property market climate many believe that such elevated prices creates a bubble that’s bound to burst.
This latest transaction also comes at the heels of the recent cooling measures announced by the HDB to control prices, which then leads us to think how much of an effect they would‘ve had in the resale market.
Nevertheless, now that this “barrier” has been broken by this $1.06M Multi-Gen flat here in Yishun, we wait with much anticipation to see how other Multi-Gen flats – either in Yishun or other estates – will react to the sale. Will we see more of such million dollar transactions in other estates? Quite possibly.
Check out other million-dollar HDBs here:
- Lor 1 Toa Payoh 4-room flat sells for $1.01M
- Dakota Crescent to see more million-dollar HDB sales
- Tampines Executive Maisonette sells for $1.013M
Cover image adapted from: MET Interior, Google Maps
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