A 5-Room HDB In Sengkang Just Sold For A Record $1.06M – Here’s How Much The Owners Could Have Made
A 5-room Premium Apartment at Block 217A Compassvale Drive just transacted for $1.062 million in November 2025, setting a new record for the flat type in the estate. For the owner (likely an early BTO buyer from the November 2012 launch), the sale caps a holding period with potential gains up to $641,000, or 152 per cent.
The Profit Breakdown
When the Compassvale Drive BTO launched in November 2012, 5-room flats sold between $421,000 and $499,000. At the lower bound, that puts absolute appreciation at $641,000, a 152% increase. At the upper launch price, gains narrow to $563,000, or 113 per cent, which is still a hefty sum.
By contrast, nearby blocks in the same estate that TOPed earlier (2014–2015) have seen slower quantum growth, as lease decay and older bones act as a drag. This unit’s 2017 TOP positions it as “newer vintage” stock with 90 years and seven months remaining, enough runway to reassure buyers on long-term value retention.
We can’t verify the exact unit’s launch price, but the range illustrates the outsized returns available to early BTO buyers who held through Sengkang’s transport and amenity build-out.
Why Margins Are Tightening
The $4,000 gap between this record and the previous one (Block 279B at $1.058 million) suggests the estate’s 5-room segment may be approaching a near-term ceiling. PropertyGuru listings show asking prices clustering just under $1 million, with few transactions breaking above that threshold.
One simple explanation: buyer pools thin as quantum rises. A $1.06 million flat requires a higher household income to clear MSR/TDSR (Mortgage Servicing Ratio/Total Debt Servicing Ratio) hurdles, even with maximum LTV (Loan-To-Value) support. Families at this price point may even weigh new three-bedder condos against resale HDB stock, creating competition on both sides.
By now, the pattern is familiar: estates with strong transport links and school clusters command premiums, but only until affordability constraints bite.
Location Still Anchors Value
The flat sits five to six minutes’ walk from Sengkang MRT (North-East Line) and is adjacent to Sengkang Square, offering immediate retail and F&B access. Within one kilometre, buyers gain proximity to seven primary schools, including Nan Chiau (ranked #31).
The development’s rectangular layout (atypical for newer BTOs) adds a minor differentiation factor, allowing flexible space reconfiguration (though we lack data to quantify the layout premium).
Views are limited; the block is surrounded by other HDB stock. Buyers here prioritise function (transport, schools, amenities) over scenery.
Some Market Context
This is the 11th million-dollar 5-room flat in Sengkang, confirming that the segment, while small, is no longer an anomaly. For comparison:
– 4-room flats in Sengkang still trade mostly below $800k, with rare outliers near $900k.
– Executive flats in older parts of the estate (20+ years) hover around $700k–$850k, held back by lease decay.
The gap between 5-room Premium Apartments and older/smaller stock continues to widen, as newness and size trump age and layout in buyer preferences.
By this point, it should be clear that million-dollar flats are no longer confined to the rarest flat types (e.g., maisonettes and jumbo flats), nor are they limited to the most mature or central areas. Bear in mind that, before HDB abandoned the old mature / non-mature system of classification, Sengkang was a non-mature town; and there’s a fair argument that its amenities are still evolving.
From this, we can see that it’s mainly a matter of patience. The owners waited through eight years of gradual appreciation, and were able to cash out even in a non-mature area. Time in the market is a consistent way to win, especially if you can wait for the ballot-and-build time of a BTO flat.
