Public housing in Singapore. (Photo: Lionel Leo/Wikimedia Commons)
A five-room flat at City View @ Boon Keng has been resold for $855,000, making it the first unit to be sold at the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project, reported My Paper, citing Housing Board records.
Situated on the 24th floor, the 109 sqm flat was sold a few months before homeowners at the project are allowed to sell their units.
The HDB had given the owners, a young couple with two children, special approval to sell the unit even before the five-year minimum occupation period (MOP) for the project ends in April.
They purchased the unit for $627,000 back in 2008 during the launch of the project.
Prices for the three- to five-room units ranged between $349,000 and $727,000, prompting concerns that the units were overpriced by public housing standards.
The average price of $520 psf was wedged between those of 99-year leasehold private condos and resale HDB flats within the area.
However, property experts believe that investment into the project will pay off.
Commenting on the said transaction, Chris Koh, Director of property consultancy Chris International, said: “Despite having paid a premium, the fact that they can walk away with a profit of one-third the launch price in today’s sluggish resale market is not bad.”
The sellers revealed that they had initially asked for $950,000 for the unit.
“We realised it was unrealistic, especially given the current market,” shared the 34-year old wife, who declined to be named. “But we still think we made a reasonable profit.”
Comprising three 40-storey blocks of 714 flats, City View @ Boon Keng is close to Kallang Community Club and the Boon Keng and Bendemeer MRT stations.
And with more units expected to enter the market soon, PropNex agent James Lim expects resale prices for the project to breach the million-dollar mark, much like at Pinnacle@Duxton, partly due to its city-fringe location.
“There are a lot of low-lying buildings around the area, especially on the side facing Lavender and Jalan Besar, so the view is unblocked.”
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
