http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...rosses-1m-mark

Clementi resale flat crosses $1m mark

Aug 12, 2016

Janice Heng


A flat in Clementi has fetched more than $1 million on the resale market, setting a record for a five-room Housing Board flat outside the Pinnacle @ Duxton.

The $1,005,000 deal, closed earlier this month, was for a 116 sq m flat on the 18th storey.

Resale prices for HDB flats rarely reach $1 million. The exceptions are units at the iconic Pinnacle @ Duxton and rare types such as executive maisonettes or HDB terrace houses.

Such prices have also been reached by units in Design, Build and Sell Scheme projects - public housing developed and sold by private developers, not by the HDB.

The record-setting flat in Clementi Avenue 3 belongs to a unique development: Clementi Towers, the first HDB project to be integrated with both a mall and a bus interchange.

"The location is so good, just above Clementi MRT Station and the shops in the mall. That is how we managed to get this level of pricing," said LHG Properties agent Rose Har, who represented the seller in the transaction.

The development comprises two 40-storey HDB blocks of three-, four- and five-room units, connected to The Clementi Mall and Clementi bus interchange, which is linked directly to the MRT station.

The Clementi Mall is owned by SPH Reit, which is sponsored by Singapore Press Holdings, which publishes The Straits Times.

Commenting on Clementi Towers, SLP International Property Consultants head of research Nicholas Mak said: "It is a unique project. In that sense, it is like the Pinnacle - you cannot compare it to other HDB projects nearby."

The specific unit might also have been renovated particularly well, allowing it to fetch a premium, said Mr Chris Koh, director of property firm Chris International.

He added: "I don't think you will see $1 million flats in other estates."

The two Clementi Towers blocks are also notable for being replacement flats under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme. They were offered to residents from the former Blocks 436 to 438.

Another HDB integrated development, Kampung Admiralty, is set to be completed next year.

Located next to Admiralty MRT Station, it puts public housing, eldercare and childcare facilities, a medical centre, as well as shops and eateries, all under one roof. But all the flats there are studio apartments, for buyers who are at least 55 years old.