Covid-19 in Singapore in March 2020 has halted economic activity.
But it did not stymie the setting of a record-high transaction for a HDB flat.
A five-room, 1,151 sq ft flat at Pinnacle@Duxton was sold for S$1.232 million.
This figure beats the previous eventual S$1.205 million record selling price set in July 2019 for a flat in Boon Keng.
Almost instant millionaire
The sale almost made the owner an instant millionaire.
According to 99.co, the owner netted a S$800,000 profit, which is an 187 per cent increase on the unit’s original selling price.
Located on the 41st floor, the unit measures 1,151 sq ft, or 107 sq m in floor area.
The flat is located at Block 1B of Pinnacle@Duxton and its layout is generous for a HDB flat.
This flat is about 2 percent larger than most current 5-room configurations, according to 99.co, and the largest of its kind at Pinnacle@Duxton.
10-year-old flat
Pinnacle@Duxton was launched as an HDB Build-to-Order (BTO) project back in May 2004.
It is currently only into its 10th year of its 99-year lease.
Residents started moving in from 2010.
The windfall effect is obvious in this case, as it has conferred upon middle-class buyers unheard of riches just from the sale of public housing due to asset appreciation.
Pinnacle@Duxton is the only BTO project to date that is located in the heart of the city right beside the Central Business District.
Record prices
The project began selling at record prices soon after the flat owners attained their five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) towards the end of 2014.
Pinnacle@Duxton has had 40 transactions at or above the S$1 million threshold.
The coveted property remains the most highly-valued HDB project ever built in Singapore on a per square foot basis.
According to 99.co, no HDB flats were built in the vicinity of the CBD between 1985 and 2003.
Top photos via Google Maps