SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - In May this year, a 1,206 sq ft HDB flat at Block 9B Boon Tiong Road was sold for $1.14 million ($945 psf). This five-room flat had just reached its Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP) at the start of this year. The transaction was successfully concluded on July 6, chalking up the highest price a resale flat in this block has ever achieved.

According to Petrina Koh, a senior marketing director at ERA Realty and the agent representing the seller, the flat was valued at $1.03 million ($854 psf) when it was put up for sale in February 2020. She says that the flat, which is on the 14th floor, was offered at a price of about $1.2 million.

The HDB flat had been home to a young family for five years, but the owner decided to sell it in order to move to a location closer to the children’s primary school, says Koh. She adds that the owner felt it would be easier to sell the flat as soon as it reached its MOP, since more buyers would be attracted to a new resale flat.

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Thus, Koh says that she had received a few million-dollar offers for the flat. “Even during the circuit breaker period, the flat continued to attract interest from a handful of buyers. This isn’t common because the unit’s size, pricing and location means that it tends to attract a rather exclusive group of buyers,” says Koh.

Eventually, the flat was sold to a family with teenage children. The family was on the lookout for a resale flat in a central location and she reckons that they are “upgrading” from a flat outside the central area.

The five-room flat is in one of the four HDB blocks that make up Tiong Bahru View, specifically 9A, 9B, 10A and 10B Boon Tiong Road. Tiong Bahru View comprises three 40-storey blocks and a 25/30-storey block with a total of 700 units, including studio apartments, and three- to five-room flats.

According to HDB’s website, Tiong Bahru View is a replacement housing site under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) for the now-demolished blocks at 110, 111, 113 and 114 Bukit Merah View.

The four blocks are bounded by Tiong Bahru Road and Jalan Bukit Ho Swee in the Tiong Bahru residential neighbourhood. Tiong Bahru View is beside Central Plaza, a 20-storey office building, as well as Tiong Bahru Plaza shopping mall which is connected to the Tiong Bahru MRT Station.

According to Koh, flats in Tiong Bahru View are able to command relatively high prices due to their proximity to the CBD and the MRT station, as well as its central location within the Tiong Bahru area. This affords residents at Tiong Bahru View convenient accessibility and connectivity to many parts of Singapore, she says.

Last year, it was reported that a 1,206 sq ft, five-room flat at 9A Boon Tiong Road within Tiong Bahru View was sold for $1.2 million ($995 psf). It is the most expensive resale flat in Tiong Bahru View so far. Block 9A has also recently recorded the sale of two 4-room flats  for $935,000 ($944 psf) and $950,000 ($959.6 psf), while a five-room flat changed hands for $980,000 ($812 psf).

Based on HDB data, a 1,184 sq ft, five-bedroom unit at Block 19 Jalan Membina was sold for $950,000 ($802 psf) in June this year. The HDB block is directly opposite Tiong Bahru Plaza and Tiong Bahru MRT Station.

“Tiong Bahru is a relatively ‘pricey’ neighbourhood because it is such a highly desirable area to live in,” says Koh. There is also a limited supply of available resale units in the area, including Tiong Bahru View, because most residents tend to stay in their homes for many years. This means it is rare to find new, family-sized HDB flats in the Tiong Bahru area, says Koh.

Check out the latest listings near Block 9B Boon Tiong Road, Tiong Bahru View, and Tiong Bahru MRT Station

For price trends, recent transactions, other project info, check out these projects' research page: Block 9B Boon Tiong Road

Read also:

• Five-room HDB flat in Clementi sold for $1.04 mil
• HDB resale transaction volume plunges by 41.9% q-o-q in 2Q2020
• HDB ‘Sky’ flats in Queenstown sought-after despite no viewings

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