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A five-room HDB reslae flat at Block 96A Henderson Road has been sold for an all-time record of S$1.4 million in May 2022.

The previous all-time high price of S$1,388,888 was paid for a five-room unit at the Pinnacle@Duxton in March earlier in the year.

The Henderson Road flat is 113 sqm and is in the mature estate of Bukit Merah between Redhill and Tiong Bahru MRT stations.

The asking price for the flat was S$1.45 million, according to The Straits Times.

The property agents who oversaw the sale said there were 20 in-person viewings over three months with multiple serious offers made.

The unit is located on the 41st floor of the 48-storey block.

Lease of 96 years and one month left

The unit was sold despite not meeting its minimum occupancy period.

It has 96 years and one month left on its lease.

Development a replacement for those who underwent SERS exercise

There are 135 five-room flats out of the 1,232 units in the project.

The development is known as City Vue @ Henderson, which is a Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) replacement site for the Redhill Close SERS project that HDB announced back in 2011.

In turn, the Henderson Road flats used to be occupied by two blocks that were part of a SERS project announced earlier in 2007.

Million-dollar flats in 2022

The total number of million-dollar flats so far in 2022 is 120 units as of May 19, according to ST.

A total of 15 HDB flats have changed hands for at least S$1 million in May 2022 alone.

There were 259 such sales in 2021, and 82 in 2020.

EdgeProp Singapore reported that there is another five-room unit at Block 96A Henderson Road on the market for S$1.5 million.

Why was flat sold before five-year minimum occupancy period fulfilled?

Owners who bought flats under SERS at the designated replacement site can sell the flats seven years from the date of selection of the replacement unit or after five years from the date of occupation, whichever is earlier.

Other reasons for early sale in other situations were addressed in a previous ST article from 2016.

It was stated that home owners are allowed to sell their HDB flats before the five-year minimum occupancy period only when special permission is granted under exceptional circumstances.

The sale could be due to several acceptable reasons, such as divorce, financial troubles owing to the death of breadwinner, and having to move close to terminally ill family members, among others.

Top photo via Google Maps