At first I thought the answer was only applicable for Bukit Panjang.
But as I expanded my search to cover the Choa Chu Kang & Yew Tee estates, an area of 3km around Bukit Panjang MRT, the results astonished me.
See below search results from EdgeProp.
The Answer Is: For the last 13 years, there has been no new 5-room HDB apartments on the resale market for sale.
That probably explains why when I first mentioned transaction prices of S$500k+ for 5-room HDB flats at Segar Vale (a HDB cluster along Segar Road), an area while convenient to amenities and well connected to Segar LRT, wouldn’t exactly rank tops in a competition of best located HDBs in Bukit Panjang.
It is, after all, still 3 LRT stops away from the said downtown line terminus station, with a host of other nearer Bukit Panjang HDB flats vying for buyer’s attention.
As of writing there’s 492 other 1000sqft+ HDB units for sale within 2km of the Bukit Panjang MRT.
FYI, Segar Vale is about 1.4km from Bukit Panjang MRT straight line distance.
So What Exactly Does ‘A 13-year Unavailability Of New 5-Room HDB Resale Flats’ Mean?
First, it does not mean that the Segar HDB flats on the market today are 13 years younger than the older flats.
That’s because back in the 2000s, HDB rules were likely to be different from the way they are now.
For example, the next youngest HDB flats, blocks 625 to 631 Senja Road, has lease start years from 2004/2005, and resale transactions as early as 2006 and 2007.
In today’s Build To Order (BTO) system, the HDB flats might not even be ready for occupation in those 2 to 3 years!
As a result, the age gap between the newest 5-rm HDB flats on the market and the next newest is 10. (2015 vs 2010), and not 13.
What’s 10 years?
Put in context, 10 years is about 10% of the HDB’s 99-year lease.
And, while the New HDB CPF Rules unveiled last month has helped to alleviate somewhat the negative sentiment surrounding older flats, it does not change the fact that the flats do depreciate to zero at the end of their lease terms.
Read more analysis on their impact here.
Not that it’s all doom and gloom for the Singapore Public Housing Market, but we simply can’t avoid the HDB lease consideration being a huge factor in buyer’s purchasing decision.
Even HDB makes it very clear to buyers and sellers alike by specifying the remaining lease down to the month in their HDB Resale Transaction price webapp.
Has Demand Really Shifted To These New 5-rm HDB Flats?
In the bigger scheme of things, 500k+ for these new flats are still quite a bit away from the highest transactions recorded in Bukit Panjang for 5-rm HDBs over the last 12 months.
That accolade belongs to 21st floor unit at HDB block 182 Jelebu Road back in December 2018, which transacted at S$678,000.
Located right beside Bukit Panjang MRT, this should come as no surprise.
In fact, of the top 20 blocks with the highest recorded 5-room HDB transactions over the last 12 months, all but 6 were within 500m of Bukit Panjang MRT.
And even those 6 are on the fringes of the 500m boundary.
Mind you, these are for flats nearing the 80 year lease mark and older, and transaction prices north of S$600k!
Clearly location is still a huge factor in home selection for buyers.
Given an older property in a better location vs a newer property in a further away location, the former usually wins.
Or more specifically, wins in terms of pricing.
Looking closely at demand, which we can measure by transaction volume, there is in my opinion a shift towards these newer HDB flats at Segar Road.
In the last 6 months (can’t take too long a time frame as MOP fulfilment was only this year, and 6 months is the shortest time frame available for selection), there were 144 HDB blocks within a 3km radius around Bukit Panjang MRT that had at least 1 5-room HDB transaction.
Of these 144, 11 blocks had 3 or more transactions. They are shown below.
The 2 newer blocks are in part of the mix. With Block 546B Segar Road and Block 546C Segar Road having 4 and 3 transactions respectively.
Considering the number of older HDB flats selling in the market, for these newer HDB blocks to have multiple transactions over the last 6 months, does show that demand is strong.
Number of transactions are also limited by supply as there are less than 10 units being marketed at the same time.
I do believe that pricing and demand for these blocks would stay consistent over the next few months as more units enter the market upon fulfilling their MOP period.
In Summary
If you’re looking for the newest resale 5-room HDB flat for sale among Yew Tee, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang (even up to Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak!), the cluster at Segar Vale is your perfect choice.
Just 3 LRT stops away to Bukit Panjang MRT, followed by a comfortable ride along the Downtown line, you can reach almost anywhere in the city within an hour.
Right downstairs, beside the LRT, a 24h Sheng Siong, coffee shop, bakery, hair salon as well as medical and dental clinics ensure you never have to step too far, or get wet by rain to fulfil your living necessities.
Sounds like something you’d like?
I have the perfect high floor unit for you at Block 547A Segar Road [Latest Update: SOLD!].
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