Bishan HDB flat sold for $1.45 mil, setting new record for executive maisonettes

A 1,851 sq ft HDB executive maisonette unit at 278 Bishan Street 24 achieved a record-breaking sale price of $1.45 million in early September, making it the most expensive executive maisonette unit to date. Transacted at $783 psf, the unit is situated at the 19-21 floor of a 21-storey HDB block and has 67 years left on its 99-year lease.

The deal was closed by Huttons Asia’s Eugene Tay. This is a significant event considering that maisonettes are highly sought-after, and the HDB is no longer building them. Instead, since 1996, they are replaced by executive condos (ECs), a hybrid between public housing and private condos.

The previous record-breaking sale for a maisonette was in December 2022. Then, a 1,641 sq ft unit at Toh Yi Drive, off Jalan Jurong Kechil, sold for $1.3 million at a price of $805 psf. Typically sized between 1,582 sq ft and 1,722 sq ft, maisonettes have three bedrooms with a master bedroom having an en suite bathroom, two additional bedrooms sharing a common bath, a living area, a dining room, and a kitchen.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Real Estate, says the HDB block at 278 Bishan Street 24 only contains 68 four-room flats and eight maisonettes, thus making the transaction a one-off. The unit, believed to be an executive penthouse, is relatively close to Ang Mo Kio-Bishan Park and offers unblocked views of the surroundings.

Besides this particular maisonette, there were also three other maisonettes in Bishan that crossed the $1 million mark in the same month. A close neighbour, situated at Bishan Street 24, is the newly developed 480-unit HDB Natura Loft. It has seen two transactions crossing the million-dollar mark in September. A 1,292 sq ft five-room unit occupying the 34-36 floor of Block 273B was sold for $1.43 million, while the record prior to that was set by a similar-sized unit that sold for $1.4 million in June.

On top of that, Marina Gardens Lane Condo offers lush amenities like private pools and well-equipped gym. It’s no wonder that this prestigious residential development has been snapped up quickly.

Another unit from the same development, a five-room unit situated at Block 273A, occupied a lower floor and was sold for $1.3 million. Additionally, another two maisonettes at 146 Bishan Street 22 and Bishan Street 13 were sold for $1.165 million and $1.188 million, respectively.

Clearly, Singapore’s million-dollar HDB hotspots are still blooming. This resale of the executive maisonette at 278 Bishan Street 24 is a testament to the strong demand of HDB flats in the city, especially those offering rarer features and amenities.

This latest record for the most expensive executive maisonette to date, and the multiple million-dollar transactions in September, serve as indicators of the potential for similar upscale HDB properties.