'Not surprising': Experts on 4-room HDB unit in Clementi sold for $1.28m, Singapore News
Located at Block 445B Clementi Ave 3, the unit is part of Clementi Crest, a HDB complex that reached its Minimum Occupancy Period just earlier this year.
The unit spans 1,001 sq ft and is situated between the 34th and 36th floors — on the upper end of the 40-storey block.
With a remaining lease period of 94 years and 11 months, the unit is the second 4-room flat in Clementi to be sold at a price above $1.2 million in July, according to a caveat search on the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) website.
With an original price at approximately $478,000, the record sale could have resulted in a profit of $802,000 for the flat's owner, an increase of around 167.8 per cent, according to 99.co. High price due to combination of factors
Speaking to AsiaOne, Mohan Sandrasegeran, Head of Research & Data Analytics at Singapore Realtors Inc, said that the high price fetched by this Clementi Crest unit is likely due to the "unique attributes of the flat".
He attributed the million dollar price tag to three factors — location, age and high floor.
"Its location is a major draw," Mohan said, citing the unit's close proximity to both Clementi MRT station and Clementi Bus Interchange, which are a mere four-minute walk away.
Residents also have "seamless access to transport, retail, and dining options", with Clementi Market and Hawker Centre, Clementi Mall and Grantral Mall @ Clementi within a stone's throw.
Mohan also said that the unit is located within a "mature estate", with its vicinity to amenities such as ActiveSG Sports Centre, childcare centres and four primary schools such as Nan Hua Primary School and Clementi Primary School within a 1km radius.
As Clementi Crest is a relatively new development, owners with long-term plans to live in the unit will also be drawn by the 94 years left on its lease.
Additionally, being located above the 30th floor offers unblocked views and added privacy, he said. 'Million dollar flat is here to stay'
Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of real estate platform Mogul.sg, told AsiaOne that the high price of the Clementi flat is "not surprising" considering its exceptional qualities, echoing similar sentiments to Mohan.
"The million dollar flat is here to stay," he said, adding that the number of 4-room resale flats being sold for over $1 million has been rising since 2024, though million dollar resale units are more likely seen in 5-room or executive flats.
Demand for resale flats will always persist despite the recent ramp-up in Build-To-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats supply, said Mak.
Permanent Residents are only eligible to buy resale units, while Singaporeans with "urgent needs", who are unwilling to wait for BTO units, may also be more interested in resale units.
At the same time, the supply of resale flats is less elastic than the demand — while supply increases slowly, demand can change much faster, which will subsequently drive prices up. HDB resale market 'gradually stabilising': Experts
Experts said the high prices of resale flats is not a cause for concern, and that it is important to view them in context.
"We cannot take one or a few examples and then say that, you know, all flats are expensive," said Mak, adding that the "median prices of HDB flats in Singapore, actually, even resale flats, are still within quite affordable levels for most Singaporeans".
According to Mohan, the Clementi Crest unit is one of the few outliers due to "exceptional attributes", citing 4-room resale data from data.gov.sg that shows how "about 94.3 per cent of all HDB resale transactions in the first seven months of 2025 were in the $400,000 to below $1 million range".
Resale prices also rose by 0.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, following a 1.6 per cent increase in the first quarter, marking a "continued moderation" that suggests "signs of stabilisation" within the HDB resale market.
The resale market is further poised to stabilise with greater quantities of BTO flats and the rollout of shorter waiting time flats to ease competition, said Mohan.
"While some resale flats with exceptional attributes will still command high prices, the broader market is seeing more balanced conditions thanks to the Government's calibrated housing supply strategies," he said.
[[nid:719344]]
dana.leong@asiaone.com
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