Top 5 Most Expensive HDB Flats in Every Decade Since the 1990s

Recently, a DBSS flat in Bishan made headlines for being the most expensive HDB flat in Singapore; the 5-room flat was sold for a mouth-watering S$1.296 million. In June, barely a month earlier, a 49-year-old HDB terrace flat in Jalan Bahagia changed hands for $1.258 million. 

In fact, we’ve already seen a record-breaking 124 million-dollar HDB flats transacted so far in 2021, which has already surpassed last year’s 82 record. Moreover, resale prices in the public housing market have been on the rise for the fifth consecutive quarter since the end of the Circuit Breaker, and are currently just about 2% below the peak recorded in 2013. Experts say that prices are likely to reach a new record in the second half of 2021. 

So since we’re on the topic of million-dollar HDB flats, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the top five most expensive resale flats in every decade since the 1990s.

Top 5 Most Expensive Flats in the 1990s

While there were no million-dollar flats in the 90s, there were surprisingly a good number of flats transacting for six-figures (remember this was a time when a 1-room and 2-room resale flat cost as low as S$5,000 and S$12,000 respectively). In fact, the most expensive flat recorded in that era was a S$900,000 executive maisonette in November 1996. 

The five most expensive flats in the 1990s were executive maisonettes and all but one were in Yishun.  

Find available executive maisonettes for sale in Yishun and Bishan on PropertyGuru. 

Top 5 Most Expensive HDB Flats in the 2000s

Although properties and homes became more expensive in the new millennium, the top five most expensive HDB flats remained pretty much still the same as the decade before. Interestingly, the five most expensive HDB flats were all recorded in Mei Ling Street in Queenstown, perhaps a sign of where the first million-dollar public housing would be. 

Find executive apartments and HDB flats for sale in Queenstown on PropertyGuru. 

Top 5 Most Expensive Resale Flats in the 2010s

The first million-dollar public housing was an executive apartment unit at Mei Ling Street in Queenstown, which was sold for S$1M in July 2012. Later in October that year, an executive maisonette in Bishan became the most expensive public flat, after the buyers agreed to pay a then-record of S$1,010,000 for the unit. 

There would be several million-dollar HDB flats after that, and by the end of the decade, a DBSS unit at Boon Keng Road had become the most expensive HDB unit at S$1,208,000. The 2010s also saw the rise of Central Area units, as they became hotspots for million-dollar HDB flats. 

Find HDB flats for sale in Queenstown on PropertyGuru.   

Top 5 Most Expensive HDB Flats from 2020-2021

As mentioned above, since the first million-dollar HDB flat in 2012, 426 million-dollar flats have been sold for at least S$1M. 124 of those were in 2021 alone!

In the last two years, we’ve seen several high-profile HDB transactions, including the S$1.296 million DBSS flat in Bishan, a S$1.258 million HDB terrace flat in Jalan Bahagia in June, and a 5-room flat at Pinnacle@Duxton that was sold for S$1.26 million in September 2020. 

With rising resale flat prices in non-mature estates, experts believe that we may soon see million-dollar flats in a non-mature estate soon.

Discover DBSS flats for sale on PropertyGuru.  

Other FAQs on Most Expensive HDB Flat

What is the Most Expensive HDB Flat?

The most expensive HDB flat is a DBSS flat in Bishan, which was sold for S$1.296 million in July 2021.

Why are DBSS Flats So Expensive?

DBSS flats are mostly located in central locations that are convenient to amenities. Furthermore, DBSS flats also feature attributes that ‘regular’ HDB flats do not, such as four bedrooms and balcony space. 

What is the Biggest HDB flat?

HDB maisonette penthouses and jumbo flats are among the biggest HDB flats; the former are as large as 215 sq m, while the latter can go up to 192 sq m. 

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This article was written by Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru. When he’s not busy churning out engaging property content* or newsletter copies, he’s busy being a lover of all geeky things. Say hi at: victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg

*I mean, I’ll try