In December 2022, a two-storey HDB flat in Bukit Timah became Singapore’s most expensive executive flat when it was sold for S$1.29 million.
It was beaten just a short while later by a flat in the opposite block, which was sold for S$1.3 million.
Just over a year after that, a flat in the same block exceeded that amount with a selling price of S$1.36 million.
Source: Google Maps
It now has the distinction of being the most expensive flat in the estate.
The pricey flat is located in Block 2 Toh Yi Drive in the Bukit Timah area, according to property website 99.co.
As the executive maisonette is on a low floor, i.e. fourth to sixth floor, it’s not exposed to heat from the sun coming through the roof.
It’s also larger than the previous few record-breakers in Toh Yi, boasting a spacious floor area of 1,658 square feet (sq ft).
As it was sold this month for S$1.36 million, the buyer had paid S$820 per sq ft (psf) for the property.
Based on this, the flat is now the most expensive in the Toh Yi estate, 99.co declared.
However, a possible drawback is that its lease started in 1988.
Thus, it’s now 36 years old and has just about 63 years of lease remaining.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the real estate agent who facilitated the transaction revealed a reason why the buyer was willing to pay top dollar for the flat.
It’s located at the corner of the block, a rare position that the family with two children liked.
The flat’s interior decoration was also complete, meaning they could move into the fourth-floor unit without doing much renovation work.
However, due to the impact of recent real-estate cooling measures, she took about six months to sell the flat as there were fewer potential buyers.
The seller eventually clinched the deal even though they’d increased the price from the initial asking price of S$1.2 million.
Apparently, Toh Yi estate has become somewhat of an HDB resale hot spot.
According to 99.co, the top-three highest transactions in the estate all involved flats in Block 2.
Source: Google Maps
The previous most expensive flat, a unit somewhere on the 10th to 12th floors, there went for S$1.35 million just last month.
As it was 1,572 sq ft in size, that means it changed hands for a whopping S$858 psf.
In third place was a flat also on the same floors that sold for S$1.3 million (S$804.95 psf) in December 2022.
That flat beat out the former most expensive executive flat in Singapore by weeks. It was an executive maisonette in Block 3 that went for a comparatively paltry sum of S$1.29 million in early December 2022.
There are a few reasons why Toh Yi Drive flats may be so popular — for one, they’re a mere 450m walk from Beauty World MRT station.
The location also offers a variety of food and retail options, with Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre just nearby.
Additionally, malls like Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and Beauty World Centre are across the road.
There’s also Cheong Chin Nam Road, a long street filled with eateries that serve every palate.
Source: Google Maps
As for educational institutions, Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School is also nearby.
However, Singapore’s most expensive executive maisonette isn’t in Toh Yi for now.
That record still goes to a flat on a high floor of Block 278 at Bishan Street 24, which sold for a staggering S$1.45 million in September 2023.
However, at S$783 psf, the Bishan flat loses out to the Toh Yi Drive flat in psf price.
Given the continuing twists and turns in Singapore’s HDB resale market, we don’t think this will remain the case for long.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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