A five-room Housing & Development Board (HDB) flat in Bishan recently changed hands for a whopping S$1.5 million.

While this HDB resale flat is not the most expensive in Singapore — that record currently goes to a five-room flat in Tiong Bahru that was sold for S$1.588 million — it is the most expensive resale flat in Bishan.

Why so expensive?

According to property marketplace 99.co, the flat is located at Block 275A in the Natura Loft development, which is along Bishan Street 24.

The units at Natura Loft belong to the now-defunct Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), and there are a total of 480 units in three 40-store residential blocks.

What is DBSS?

The government launched DBSS units in 2005 but axed it a few years later after receiving complaints, particularly when a series of five-room DBSS flats at Centrale 8 in Tampines went on sale for S$880,000 each in 2011.

Other complaints included poor design, workmanship and units riddled with defects.

As such, DBSS units are a rarity and there are only 13 DBSS projects, totalling 8,533 DBSS units available in Singapore.

Also known as a "premium HDB flat", DBSS units are supposedly built with designs which resemble condominium units and are mostly situated in mature estates.

Natura Loft, for instance, is located in Bishan, which has plenty of amenities conveniently within reach, as 99.co noted and reported.

The premium associated with DBSS unit is reflected in the prices of its units; they are typically more expensive than HDB flats, but cheaper than condominiums.

High floor, 86 years left

Besides its DBSS specifications and its location, the five-room Natura Loft HDB resale flat is located between the 22nd to 24th floors.

The unit spans 1,292 sq ft and has 86 years left on its 99-year lease.

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Top image by Fan Yang/Google Maps and from SRX.