The Ministry of National Development (MND), Housing and Development Board (HDB), and the Council of Estate Agents (CEA) have issued a joint statement to call out two separate listings of public housing flats supposedly up for sale, each with an asking price of S$2 million.

The two properties were a “jumbo flat” in Sengkang and a five-room Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat in Toa Payoh.

The statement called the Sengkang flat listing "misleading", and while the Toa Payoh flat listing was labelled as "unrealistic".

Sengkang "jumbo flat" listing problematic

The Sengkang "jumbo flat" was listed on PropertyGuru but has since been taken down, after CEA pointed out the misleading advertisement to the agent’s property agency.

The statement said: "This is misleading because there are no jumbo flats at Block 314C Anchorvale Link."

It was explained that the “jumbo flat” listed is actually two adjacent five-room flats, which are not eligible to be converted into and sold as a single unit.

"Furthermore, the listing price for the “jumbo flat” is well above the recent transacted prices in the precinct," the statement said.

In the last six months, five-room flats in that part of Sengkang transacted for around S$580,000, rendering the S$2 million listing price at more than S$800,000 above the combined value of the two five-room flats.

CEA is investigating the matter and will take firm action if any breaches are established, the statement added.

5-room DBSS flat in Toa Payoh overpriced

Referring to the DBSS flat in Toa Payoh, the statement added that the listing price was also too high, as the S$2 million asking price "is almost half a million dollars above the highest transacted price in the area".

"Many property market experts are of the view that this is an unrealistic asking price, even for a DBSS flat with attractive attributes," the statement said.

Moreover, the statement noted that there is "no Intent to Sell registered with HDB for this particular flat", indicating that the flat cannot be sold as the seller or sellers are unable to "grant any Option to Purchase (OTP) at this stage".

Significant upfront cash payment due to high cash-over-valuation

The statement also noted that the two flats will come with significant cash-over-valuation (COV) at the current listed prices.

A high COV has to be fully paid in cash upfront, it was explained.

The statement advised:

"While resale transactions are on a ‘willing buyer-willing seller’ basis, prospective buyers are strongly advised to evaluate their finances and housing options carefully, and be rational and prudent in their decision, especially in the current economic and geopolitical climate."

The ministry, statutory board and regulatory body also said property agencies and agents have an ethical obligation to act in the best interests of their clients and the public, including prospective buyers, while upholding the integrity and professionalism of the real estate industry, which is a regulated sector.

"To protect the interests of the public and promote information transparency to facilitate informed decisions by prospective buyers, CEA will also look into the information presented by property agents when they market HDB flats," the statement said.

Top photo via PropertyGuru