Holland Village flat sells for $1.03m

A young couple were so taken by the "million-dollar view" from a flat on the 36th storey of a Holland Village block that they paid $1.03m to live in it.

The unit in Block 18D, Holland Drive, was one of at least three five-room Housing Board flats to surpass the million-dollar mark so far this year.

Data from real estate agency PropNex shows the other two, in nearby Block 50, Commonwealth Drive, were sold for $1.028m in August and $1.035m last month.

While certain classes of public housing, such as executive apartments, those built by private developers under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) and flats at The Pinnacle@Duxton, have regularly fetched such prices, these three five-roomers are "regular" flats.

PropNex real estate agent Michelle Chia, who handled the Holland Village deal, said the couple in their 20s were buying a home for the first time.

They are atypical as buyers willing to splurge huge amounts on resale flats are usually older, second-time buyers who may not be able to secure Build-To-Order flats.

Ms Chia said they were drawn by the view of the surrounding landed properties as well as the easy access to amenities such as the Holland Village MRT station.

"I received many inquiries in the $800,000 to $900,000 range, but I held out because I was confident that a $1m-plus offer would come. Thankfully, the couple decided to take the plunge after three viewings," she added.

The recent transactions were recorded even as figures show a steady decline of HDB's resale price index since last year. The latest quarter this year saw the steepest drop since the start of 2015, HDB data shows.

Despite a number of eye-opening transactions in recent years, property experts say that HDB flats that sell above $900,000 today are still considered outliers.

ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak said: "Right now, the HDB resale market is still cautious, and buyers are still a bit spoilt for choice, especially for first-timers who can turn to the high amount of subsidies."

Other recent record-breakers have tended to come from rare or unique classes of public housing.

A Pinnacle@Duxton flat that sold for $1.12m broke the HDB resale record last year. In February, a penthouse DBSS unit at Bishan's Natura Loft went for $1.18m.

Last year, a five-room resale unit at Clementi Towers, the first HDB project to be integrated with a mall and bus interchange, sold for $1.005m.

The Commonwealth and Holland Village blocks do not have such integrated amenities.

A unit in Block 18C, Holland Drive, traded hands for $975,000 in August, said a PropNex spokesman.

"We can expect prices at this block to be around this rate, possibly crossing over the million-dollar mark again in the near future, as buyers are prepared to pay over $1 million for the unit's size and their central location," he added.