Even though we’ve just crossed the halfway mark of 2022, the HDB resale market has been generating a lot of buzz in the overall property market and setting new record highs in terms of sales prices. In particular, we’ve seen how more and more HDB flats in areas such as Woodlands and Yishun have transacted at over a million dollars in the last 6 months.
Just this past month, another maisonette in Pasir Ris has since joined the million-dollar resale club, marking the very first time that an HDB in Pasir Ris has been sold for such a high price. With the way things are going in the HDB resale market, it might be safe to say that this million-dollar list is no longer as elusive as we previously thought.
Here’s everything that you need to know about the Pasir Ris sale:
About the Pasir Ris million-dollar HDB
Image adapted from: HDB
According to the HDB’s Resale Price Checker, the said flat is located at Block 156 Pasir Ris Street 13, built in 1995. It’s also a maisonette, which means that it’s a two-storey HDB unit.
The key highlight of this unit is perhaps its size. The flat stands at a hefty 189sqm or 2,034sqft, which is massive in terms of today’s HDB standards. For reference, a typical 4-room unit measures between 904–1,162sqft, meaning that it’s almost double that of today’s BTO units.
It’s also similar in size to the Executive flat sold in Woodlands for over a million dollars, and larger than the two Yishun ones (1,765sqft and 1,980sqft, respectively) sold recently.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
In terms of price, the unit recorded a resale price of $1.138M. This makes it one of the highest-ever transactions recorded this year; based on our checks, there’s only a very small handful of units which had a higher resale price, such as a 5-room flat in Block 260A Ang Mo Kio St 21 ($1.15M) in May and an Executive Apartment at Block 232A Serangoon Ave 2 ($1.15M) earlier this year in January.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Location-wise, we have to say that there’s nothing too amazing about where the block is situated, other than the fact that it sits along the major road of Loyang Avenue and also a stone’s throw away from the TPE highway, which affords residents easy connectivity to other parts of Eastern Singapore.
Even though the block is located within Pasir Ris, it’s actually closer to the Tampines East MRT station, being just a short 8 to 10-minute bus ride away.
For amenities, there are the usual small provision shops and childcare centres located in and around the HDB estate. For those who are looking for a wider range of dining or retail options, there’s the small Loyang Point shopping centre just 5 minutes away; else, you’ll have to take a longer bus or car ride to the larger Tampines 1 or White Sands shopping mall.
Image credit: TheSmartLocal
Remember how we mentioned that the aforementioned flat is situated right along Loyang Avenue? Well, for those who love food or casual seaside strolls, the road leads you right up to the Changi Village vicinity, which offers the gamut of dining options as well as scenic views that you can soak in while walking along the Eastern coastline.
Definitely a plus if you like the sea breeze or are an avid cyclist that likes to clock a fair amount of distance on the weekends.
Development of Pasir Ris
One of the probable reasons why properties in Pasir Ris will likely see a significant appreciation in prices over the next few years is because of how the town is set for a massive development plan that will bring about more and more features and draws.
Image credit: Pasir Ris 8 Condo
According to the HDB and URA’s Draft Master Plan for Pasir Ris, there are four key strategies planned for Pasir Ris:
- Transforming the town centre into a vibrant hub
- Enhancing nature living with upgraded parks and new housing by the park
- Enlivening community spaces in the neighbourhoods
- Improving connectivity
There’s a whole list of plans to transform Pasir Ris, which you can read from HDB’s press release. Some of our top picks include more mixed-use developments being built around the Pasir Ris township, a Central Greenway that would feature bicycle paths on top of walkways, and further redevelopment of the Pasir Ris park and coastal areas to allow for greater accessibility and vibrancy that Singaporeans can all enjoy.
Why are we seeing more and more million-dollar HDBs outside of the Central region?
When it comes to property value, it’s no surprise that developments in the Core Central Region of Singapore usually command the highest prices.
That being said, what’s perhaps most interesting about the latest Pasir Ris million-dollar HDB resale unit transaction is that it not only marks the first time that Pasir Ris has broken into this million-dollar list, but also how it’s an estate in the OCR (Outside Central Region).
It joins other non-mature estates like Woodlands and Yishun in clocking resale transactions of over one million dollars, which is quite unprecedented and unheard of in the past few years.
According to reports, there have been about 149 transactions this year alone that have crossed that one million mark, of which 6 come from Woodlands, Yishun and Pasir Ris.
These estates were generally considered to be quite far out along the fringes of Singapore and previously thought to be not as favourable locations as compared to more central heartlands such as Serangoon and Ang Mo Kio, though it seems that this mindset has since shifted.
So why are such estates clocking more and more million-dollar sales, and seemingly defying conventional wisdom when it comes to location affecting property values? There are a few reasons that we can think of, based on our analysis and observations these last few months:
Demand for bigger flats
One common denominator that we’ve observed across the recent million-dollar sales in Woodlands, Yishun and Pasir Ris is that the units sold are typically larger flat types such as Executive Apartments and Maisonettes.
Image credit: Houzz
Apart from the luxury of floor space that many homeowners would love to have and are willing to fork out good money for, such maisonettes are also hard to come by, given the growing scarcity of such flats.
As you may already know, HDB no longer builds such flats, and so having an increasing demand for such units met with a limited supply only causes prices to be on the uptrend.
Development of outlying estates
One other contributing factor can be attributed to the various master plans to redevelop these estates in the long run.
Apart from the Pasir Ris Master Plan that we’ve already talked about earlier, the URA is set to transform estates like Yishun and Woodlands in the Northern region, and Tampines South and Bayshore in the Eastern region. On the whole, these redevelopment projects will rejuvenate and add vibrancy into these estates, which will in turn lead to a greater potential for price appreciation of properties in the area.
Previously, properties in the Core Central Region (CCR) were thought of as being most highly sought after, given their connectivity to the city as well as the proximity to a whole host of amenities and features that only the CCR could provide.
Well, with these redevelopment projects, the OCR will too be similarly transformed to feature unique offerings that provide a value proposition to property buyers.
What’s the trajectory of resale flats?
So with all that being said, it’s safe to say that the trajectory of resale units is set to continually climb upwards. And in particular, we’ll definitely see more and more large flats in the OCR cross the million-dollar mark.
There are of course a few external factors that come into play that will affect property prices in the near future. For one, now that Covid is more or less on the backfoot and borders are open again, we’ll begin to see some of the pressure on the construction industry ease up. This will mean that there’ll be fewer construction delays, and so the timeline for BTOs will be back on track, which will attract buyers back to the BTO market.
Image credit: TheSmartLocal
However, we know that times are uncertain right now in the global economy, given rising inflation and an expected recession looming on the horizon. There are 2 possible outcomes to this: On one hand, people might be more hesitant about making large purchases such as property given the uncertainty, and would very much prefer to have cash on hand. This would mean a slower demand for property, which would arrest the uptrend of property prices.
On the other hand, it’s exactly due to inflation and recession that some might turn to the property market to invest their money, as a means of protecting their wealth from being eroded due to inflation. This would mean a sustained demand in the property market, which will lead to a continual increase in prices.
Will we see more and more resale properties in the OCR crossing the million-dollar mark? Most definitely. It’s interesting times right now in the property market, and we can only wait and see how the external environment will affect the resale market in the near future.
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Cover image adapted from: Google Maps
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