A Five-Room HDB Was Just Sold For A Record Fee Of $1.5m – Here’s How Much The Owners Could Have Made

We’ve hit yet another terrible milestone in the scheme of crazy HDB prices, with a 5-room in Boon Keng reaching $1.54 million. It’s the usual culprit though: City View @ Boon Keng, which has single-handedly rebranded Boon Keng as “that place where the DBSS can cost more than a condo.” Here’s a look at the winner:

The Flat in Question

• Project: City View @ Boon Keng (DBSS)
• Flat Type: 5-room, 119 sqm
• Storey: 25 to 27 (high floor)
• Lease Start: 2011 (84 years 5 months remaining)
• Price: $1,540,000

As I mentioned earlier, Boon Keng can now be broadly divided into its pre-DBSS and post-DBSS phase. Prior to City View @ Boon Keng, the area was mainly known for car workshops and older flats, some dating back to the SIT era. 

But City View @ Boon Keng, the second DBSS project to be launched in this area, has been giving HDB a headache with its resale prices. The previous record here was a 5-room flat on a slightly lower floor (22 to 24), which was at $1.49 million. In that specific context, this is not remarkable – it edged out the previous record by just around $50,000.

It should also be said that City View also has a fairly large number of 5-room flats (two-thirds of its 714 units are 5-room flats), and these will have a higher quantum than smaller flats – so in that vein, it’s also not too surprising that City View is associated with big overall prices. 

What justifies the price? 

For those who don’t already know, DBSS projects are built by private developers (although minus common facilities like pools and gyms.) They’re half-condo, and have layouts you won’t find in other HDB flats – a little more on that below. 

DBSS flats were also priced higher than normal BTOs even at launch, so buyers today tend to assume they’re “premium” HDBs (never mind the bay windows eating up your usable space).

But besides this:

1. It’s in the heart of Boon Keng

City View sits practically on top of Boon Keng MRT (NEL), with Bendemeer MRT (DTL) also within walking distance. 

Nearby, you’ve got Bendemeer Market & Food Centre, a small HDB mall with NTUC FairPrice, plus the bigger City Square Mall and Aperia Mall. The Whampoa Park Connector runs nearby, which also makes this a good spot for cyclists. 

Overall, City View is one of the best located HDB projects in Boon Keng, if not the best. 

2. Schools

There are two primary schools within one kilometre: Bendemeer Primary and Hong Wen Primary. Even if your children don’t attend those schools – or you have no children – multiple schools within enrolment range helps to justify a price bump.

3. Size

This record breaking unit is a large one at 119 sqm (around 1,280 sq ft.) 

5-room flats in City View range from around 1,151 sq ft to around 1,280 sq ft, and as mentioned, the larger sizes translate to a higher quantum. Currently PropertyGuru shows that 5-room flats here are asking for up to $1.55 million, so in the context of City View, it’s a record breaking but not exactly shocking. 

You can probably also see the appeal, if you compare it to private counterparts: $1.54 million is close to the price of about a new launch two-bedder today, which would probably only be half the size. 

It’s not too surprising that many are upgrading into 5-room or larger flats for this reason, which also helps to push up the price / demand. 

How Much Did the Sellers Make?

According to EdgeProp’s data on DBSS projects, five-roomers at City View were initially sold for between $536,000 to $727,000. 

That means this seller could be pocketing close to $1 million in gross gains.

We also found that, back in 2016, five-room flats here were trading at around $855,000. So in just nine years, values have nearly doubled. Not bad for an HDB that still has over 84 years of its lease remaining. 

The Layout and Quirks

We’ve actually highlighted a 5-room at City View before, you can check it out here. But here’s a look at the floor plan:

My frank opinion is that it’s not actually very efficient. There are bay windows, which regular HDB flats don’t have – but bay windows are not a positive. They just take up space by protruding from your windows. The balcony is also quite large and has a planter box – I get that the view here is nice and it’s a higher floor flat, but it’s still pricey and unnecessary square footage to pay for. 

Other elements are acceptable and fall into the definition of a standard 5-room flat flow – living / dining area, three bedrooms, and a service yard. The finishing and quality of countertops, flooring, etc. is supposed to be better for a DBSS flat, but this will also be affected by any prior renovations when it comes to resale. 

The view would probably be one of its strongest qualities. 

Another day, another record

At this point, million-dollar HDBs – especially from projects like City View – are part of the normal news cycle. What’s more interesting is how fast the bar keeps moving: from $855,000 in 2016 to $1.54 million today, and with listings already pushing $1.55 million.

Whether that feels like “wealth creation” or “the system’s gone off the rails” depends on which side of the transaction you’re on. Either way, City View @ Boon Keng has cemented itself as the poster child of the DBSS era, for better or worse.

We’ll be keeping tabs on how flats like this shape the broader market, so follow us on Stacked. If you’d like to get in touch for a more in-depth consultation, you can do so here.