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Quick Answer: Singapore HDB Record Prices 2026 — Key Facts
- New all-time record: A 5-room HDB flat at 96A Henderson Road was sold for S$1.728 million in April 2026, setting a new all-time HDB resale record at approximately S$1,421 per square foot.
- Previous record: S$1.7 million for a 5-room flat at 92 Dawson Road (February 2026) — this record lasted less than three months.
- Million-dollar trend: 412 HDB flats changed hands above S$1 million in Q1 2026 — the highest quarterly figure ever recorded and nearly double the Q1 2025 figure of 210.
- Not just premium estates: Million-dollar flats were transacted in 18 of Singapore’s 26 HDB towns in Q1 2026, including Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh, Queenstown, Bishan, and Kallang/Whampoa.
- S$2 million milestone: At the current trajectory — five record-breaking transactions in 14 months — a S$2 million HDB resale flat could occur within 2–3 years, most likely in the Greater Southern Waterfront corridor (Henderson, Dawson, Queenstown).
- Who administers HDB resale: The HDB Resale Portal (administered by HDB) handles all resale transaction procedures; IRAS collects Buyer’s Stamp Duty on all HDB resale transactions.
- Implication for buyers: Million-dollar HDB flats are no longer outliers — they represent a meaningful segment of the resale market in established mature estates, and buyers should price in Buyer’s Stamp Duty of S$24,600 on a S$1M flat or S$44,600 on a S$1.5M flat when budgeting.
The Transaction That Rewrote Singapore’s HDB Record Book
On or around late April 2026, a 5-room HDB flat on the 46th to 48th floor of Block 96A Henderson Road changed hands for S$1.728 million — approximately S$1,421 per square foot for a unit spanning 113 square metres (approximately 1,216 square feet). The flat is part of the City Vue @ Henderson development, a relatively recent HDB project with a lease commencement date in 2019 and 92 years of remaining tenure. Its height, panoramic views towards the Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW) and beyond, and the prestige of the Henderson Road corridor in District 4 combined to attract a buyer willing to set a new national benchmark for public housing.
The record was short-lived in its previous form: just two months earlier, a 5-room flat at 92 Dawson Road — another premium HDB development in Queenstown — had sold for S$1.7 million (S$1,295 psf), itself overthrowing the prior record set in 2024. The Henderson Road transaction surpassed even that by S$28,000 and at a higher psf rate, reflecting the extraordinary premium the market attaches to height, views, and remaining lease in Singapore’s public housing sector.
The Broader Trend: Million-Dollar Flats Are No Longer Exceptional
The headline record transaction is dramatic, but the more significant story for ordinary buyers and sellers is the surge in million-dollar HDB resale transactions at the market-wide level. According to HDB’s Q1 2026 public housing statistics, 412 flats changed hands at or above S$1 million in the first quarter of 2026. This compares with 248 in Q4 2025 and 210 in Q1 2025 — a year-on-year increase of approximately 96%, meaning million-dollar HDB transactions essentially doubled in twelve months.
The Q1 2026 figure is driven by several compounding factors. First, approximately 13,480 HDB flats completed their 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) in 2026, particularly in premium precincts like Dawson–Queenstown, Bidadari, and Tengah — estates that were developed during Singapore’s 2016–2020 peak construction cycle and have since seen substantial appreciation. Second, the 30-month private property wait-out period for downgraders (introduced in September 2022 by HDB and MND) is now clearing for the first wave of downgraders, adding a cohort of well-capitalised buyers re-entering the HDB market with significant liquidity. Third, HDB’s new Plus and Prime flat classifications — which carry 10-year MOPs — have not yet supplied any resale stock, tightening available supply in the most desirable precincts.
The geographic spread of million-dollar transactions has also widened markedly. Industry data shows that in Q1 2026, million-dollar HDB flats were transacted in 18 distinct HDB towns, compared with 12 towns in Q1 2024. Notably, Bukit Merah — where a 4-room jumbo flat at S$1.53 million changed hands in May 2026 with 45 years of remaining lease — represents the penetration of the million-dollar tier into flat types and locations that once seemed improbable candidates.
Summary Table: Notable HDB Million-Dollar Transactions (2025–2026)
| Address | Flat Type | Sale Price | PSF | Remaining Lease | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 96A Henderson Road | 5-Room | S$1.728M | S$1,421 | ~92 years | April 2026 |
| 92 Dawson Road | 5-Room | S$1.700M | S$1,295 | ~91 years | February 2026 |
| Kallang/Whampoa (St George’s Lane) | EA | S$1.650M | S$1,180 | ~80 years | Q4 2025 |
| Bukit Merah (unnamed block) | 4-Rm Jumbo | S$1.530M | S$1,100 | ~45 years | May 2026 |
| Bishan (EA) | Executive Apt | S$1.388M | S$1,020 | ~72 years | Q1 2026 |
Worked Example: Buying a S$1.5M HDB Resale Flat — Full Cost Breakdown
Suppose Mr and Mrs Tan are Singapore Citizens purchasing a 5-room HDB resale flat at Henderson Road for S$1.5 million as their first property. Here is the full cost structure they face, governed by the Stamp Duties Act (Cap. 312) and HDB’s financing rules.
Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD): First S$180,000 × 1% = S$1,800 | Next S$180,000 × 2% = S$3,600 | Next S$640,000 × 3% = S$19,200 | Remaining S$500,000 × 4% = S$20,000 | Total BSD = S$44,600
ABSD: Nil — SC couple buying first property.
HDB Loan eligibility: Checked against the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter. At S$1.5M, the property price exceeds HDB’s loan ceiling for most income bands — HDB loan is capped at S$500,000 for the purchase price corridor S$1M–S$1.5M (as at May 2026; buyers should verify the current ceiling at hdb.gov.sg). A bank loan at 75% LTV would yield S$1,125,000 at approximately 1.80% fixed 2-year → monthly S$4,670. TDSR at S$15,000/month household income = 31.1% — within the 55% regulatory cap.
Total upfront cash: 5% cash down S$75,000 + BSD S$44,600 + legal/valuation S$3,500 = approximately S$123,100. Remaining 20% down (S$300,000) may be funded from CPF OA savings.
This example illustrates that million-dollar HDB purchases are not simply a matter of affordability in terms of price — the transaction costs alone (BSD + down payment + legal) exceed S$400,000 in total cash and CPF outlay, placing them firmly in the category of significant financial commitments requiring careful TDSR and long-term cash-flow planning.
What Does This Mean for HDB Buyers and Sellers in 2026?
For sellers in premium HDB precincts — particularly those with units in Queenstown, Bishan, Toa Payoh, Kallang/Whampoa, Clementi, and Bukit Merah — the prevailing market suggests that aspirational pricing is increasingly meeting genuine demand. Sellers who purchased their flats in the 2016–2021 period, particularly in new BTO projects in mature estates, are sitting on capital gains of S$200,000–S$500,000 — sufficient to fund a substantial CPF-plus-cash contribution to a private condo upgrade while retaining meaningful liquidity.
For buyers, the million-dollar HDB market presents a specific financial planning challenge. HDB loans are not available above the HDB Loan Eligibility ceiling (check hdb.gov.sg for the current figure, which is periodically reviewed by HDB). At price points above S$1M, buyers must therefore rely on bank loans (75% LTV), meaning a 25% down payment on a S$1.5M flat requires S$375,000 — of which only 5% (S$75,000) can be paid in CPF, with the remainder in cash or CPF depending on CPF OA balance. The BSD alone on S$1.728M is approximately S$55,120, a transaction cost that cannot be funded from CPF for HDB resale transactions (BSD is payable in cash for resale flats unless the buyer’s CPF OA has sufficient balance and IRAS approves CPF use).
The market is also raising questions about the long-term sustainability of million-dollar HDB valuations given Singapore’s 99-year HDB lease model. Buyers of older flats (45-year remaining lease as in the Bukit Merah May 2026 transaction) face a stark lease-decay premium erosion: CPF Board restricts CPF usage for flats with less than 60 years of remaining lease, and HDB’s Lease Buyback Scheme provides only a partial remedy. Buyers paying S$1.5M+ should stress-test their exit strategy against a 30-year horizon and the impact of lease decay on future resale value.
What Might Come Next: The Road to S$2 Million
This is a forward-looking section and should not be treated as a prediction or financial advice.
At the pace of record-breaking HDB transactions observed over 2024–2026, a S$2 million HDB resale transaction is no longer structurally implausible — though it remains exceptional. The conditions for such a transaction to occur are specific: a very high floor unit (above the 40th floor) in a premium Greater Southern Waterfront precinct (Henderson, Dawson, Queenstown waterfront sites) with 85+ years of remaining lease, exceptional views, and a buyer with the financial means to transact above the HDB loan ceiling using bank financing. The timeline is speculative, but market commentators and industry research desks quoted in EdgeProp and Business Times have noted that the S$2M threshold could be breached within two to four years given current trajectory.
The broader implication for the HDB market is structural: the proliferation of million-dollar transactions is reshaping the aspirational ceiling for public housing, blurring the boundary between the HDB and private condo segments in terms of buyer profile, financing complexity, and transaction costs. HDB has not signalled any new supply-side or demand-side interventions targeting the million-dollar tier specifically — additional cooling measures, if any, are more likely to be applied at the market-wide level through ABSD adjustments or TDSR tightening.
What is the highest-ever HDB resale price in Singapore?
As at May 2026, the highest recorded HDB resale transaction is S$1.728 million for a 5-room flat at 96A Henderson Road (City Vue @ Henderson), transacted in April 2026 at approximately S$1,421 per square foot. This surpassed the prior record of S$1.7 million set at 92 Dawson Road in February 2026. Both records relate to premium, high-floor units in mature estates with long remaining leases and views of the Greater Southern Waterfront corridor. All HDB resale transaction data is publicly searchable on the HDB Resale Portal at resale.hdb.gov.sg.
How many HDB million-dollar flats were sold in 2026?
In Q1 2026 alone, 412 HDB flats changed hands at or above S$1 million, according to HDB’s Q1 2026 Public Housing Statistics released in April 2026. This was the highest quarterly figure ever recorded and represents a year-on-year increase of approximately 96% from Q1 2025’s figure of 210. For context, fewer than 100 million-dollar HDB transactions occurred in any single quarter before 2023. The surge reflects the confluence of a large MOP wave (approximately 13,480 flats completing MOP in 2026), the clearing of the 30-month private-property wait-out period for early downgraders, and genuine price appreciation in premium HDB precincts.
Why are HDB resale prices so high in some areas?
Several structural factors drive premium HDB resale prices in specific precincts: (1) MRT interchange proximity — flats within a 5-minute walk of a major interchange station (Bishan NSL–CCL, Queenstown, Outram Park) consistently command premiums; (2) school corridor access — 1-kilometre priority-phase eligibility for top primary schools such as Raffles Institution, Catholic High, Nanyang Primary, and RGPS is a documented price driver; (3) remaining lease — flats with 85+ years of remaining lease attract a premium because CPF usage is unrestricted and future resale value is better supported; (4) views and height — Greater Southern Waterfront and Marina Bay views, particularly from floors above the 35th, command exceptional premiums in a city with few elevated public residential units; (5) MOP wave scarcity — precincts where BTO supply completed 5 years ago and no new BTO launches are imminent suffer supply scarcity that drives up resale prices.
Do HDB million-dollar flat buyers pay ABSD?
ABSD liability on HDB resale flats follows the same rules as any other residential property purchase under the Stamp Duties Act. Singapore Citizens purchasing their first residential property pay 0% ABSD — so a SC couple buying a S$1.728M Henderson Road flat as their first home pays no ABSD. A SC purchasing a second property pays 20% ABSD (S$345,600 on S$1.728M). A Singapore Permanent Resident purchasing a first property pays 5% ABSD (S$86,400); a second property, 30% ABSD. Foreigners pay 65% ABSD on any residential property purchase. All ABSD is administered and collected by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS); rates are current as at May 2026 and are subject to change.
Should I buy a million-dollar HDB flat or a private condo instead?
This is fundamentally a personal financial decision dependent on your income, CPF balances, risk appetite, and long-term housing plans. The broad financial comparison: a S$1.5M HDB resale flat and a S$1.5M private condo carry broadly similar upfront BSD (S$44,600 each) and down-payment requirements, but differ in several key dimensions. HDB flats are subject to MOP restrictions, cannot be rented out in full during the MOP, and are financed subject to the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) ceiling of 30% of gross income (not applicable to bank loans for private property, which use only TDSR at 55%). Private condos offer greater flexibility, strata title ownership, shared facilities, and no MOP restrictions. LovelyHomes recommends consulting a licensed estate agent (CEA-registered) and a qualified financial adviser before making a decision of this magnitude.
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