A 5-room HDB flat at Tiong Bahru View has just sold for $1.648M, and yes, that’s another eye-watering number for Singapore’s resale market. Million-dollar flats might not shock us the way they used to, but this one still stands out, especially since Tiong Bahru View has quietly become one of those estates buyers keep circling back to.
More importantly, this isn’t just a flashy outlier. Deals like this reveal what many buyers are clearly willing to pay for now: space, a central location, and a relatively fresh lease. In a market where large flats near town are getting harder to come by, Tiong Bahru View is starting to look like a sign of where demand is heading.
$1.648M Tiong Bahru View 5-room flat
Image credit: Zhou Dong via Google Maps
The latest sale involved a 1,206sqft, 5-room flat on the 25th to 27th floor of Block 9A Boon Tiong Road. The unit changed hands for $1.648M, or about $1,367psf, hence setting a new benchmark for 5-room resale flats in Bukit Merah.
What makes this more than just a one-off headline is the pattern behind it. Prices in Tiong Bahru View have been moving upwards since the estate cleared its MOP, with lower-floor units selling at around $1.26M and higher-floor ones already crossing the $1.5M mark. The previous area record, also from a neighbouring block, stood at $1.588M, so this latest deal feels less like a surprise spike and more like the next step in an ongoing climb.
This is comparable to the highly coveted heritage walk-ups that have seen prices comfortably above $1M, despite having less than 41 years left on the lease.
Why buyers are still willing to pay these prices
A big part of Tiong Bahru View’s appeal boils down to city-fringe convenience, a relatively fresh lease, and a larger flat format.
Image adapted from: Google Maps
Located along Boon Tiong Road in District 3, the estate is close to both Tiong Bahru and Havelock MRT Stations, with Outram Park MRT Station just one stop away. For homeowners, that means easy access to town without actually living in the thick of it.
Then there’s the lease. Unlike many older HDB estates in mature neighbourhoods, Tiong Bahru View has a 2016 lease commencement because it was built as replacement housing under SERS. That gives buyers close to 9 decades left on the lease, which is a meaningful advantage in a resale market where lease decay matters more and more.
Compared to the nearby Boon Tiong Arcadia, where 5-room flats are also crossing the million-dollar mark but have noticeably shorter remaining leases, Tiong Bahru View simply offers a more future-proof proposition.
Large city-fringe flats are getting harder to come by
Another reason these flats keep attracting strong prices is that buyers looking for space near the city don’t have many alternatives. In recent years, central BTO projects have skewed towards smaller flat types, and 5-room flats are far less common in mature, well-connected estates. So for families or upgraders who want a larger home without moving far out, the resale market becomes the obvious place to look.
SkyOasis @ Dawson.
Image credit: Google Maps
That’s also why estates like Tiong Bahru View are increasingly being mentioned alongside other high-profile HDB names such as SkyOasis @ Dawson in Margaret Drive, The Peak @ Toa Payoh, and Pinnacle @ Duxton. All 4 developments share a similar appeal, offering larger-format homes in or near central neighbourhoods, with strong transport links and the kind of location that’s hard to replicate in newer BTO launches.
5-room HDB flat in Tiong Bahru View sold for $1.648
At this point, it’s pretty clear that buyers are still willing to pay top dollar for the rare combo of space, convenience, and a longer lease. And as long as larger flats in central or city-fringe neighbourhoods remain limited, prices in estates like Tiong Bahru View will probably stay strong.
For more record-breaking HDBs:
- Most expensive HDB flats sold in 2026 so far
- Clementi resale transacts at $1.5m, Geylang flat hits historic $1.3m high
- 3-room Bidadari Park Drive HDB flat sells for $900k in Nov 2025
Cover image adapted from: Uchify, Zhou Dong via Google Maps
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