Urban Secrets · Singapore Property Planning
Million-Dollar Flats Are Real. They're Also Not Your Flat.
Every record-breaking HDB sale becomes a headline. What almost never makes the news is the calm, steady median transaction happening in the background, the one that actually reflects what most flats are selling for.
Isaac Lee · PropNex Realty · Updated Aug 2026 · 👁 14,960 views
The news only reports the anomalies. A single $1 million HDB transaction generates more headlines than a thousand ordinary resale deals combined, and that creates a genuinely dangerous two-tier perception where average buyers start panicking about a market they're not actually in.
The outlier illusion
Million-dollar HDB deals are driven by a narrow set of factors: ultra-rare layouts, prime unblocked views, and remaining leases of 90-plus years. These conditions apply to a small slice of the resale market, concentrated in specific blocks and estates like Pinnacle@Duxton, SkyVille@Dawson, and premium units in mature towns such as Toa Payoh, Queenstown, and Bidadari.
Beneath those outliers, a completely different, calmer market is forming, but the noise from record-breaking headlines drowns it out. While the top of the market makes news, the median transacted price tells a far steadier story: most flats aren't trading anywhere near the seven-figure mark, and most buyers aren't competing for the flats that are.
Why anchoring to headlines costs you money
When you anchor your price expectations, as a buyer or a seller, to headline numbers instead of actual comparable transactions, you end up overpaying or underpricing relative to what your specific flat is actually worth. You're effectively paying for someone else's PR moment.
The golden rule of comps
Never price against the news. Price against actual transactions within your immediate area, ideally within the last 90 days and within roughly 500m of your specific block. Recent, local, comparable data will always tell you more than a national record that has nothing to do with your unit's layout, lease, or floor.
This doesn't mean million-dollar flats aren't real, they are, and they're becoming more common as more flats age past the 40-year mark with long leases remaining and prime locations. It means they're a distinct segment of the market, not a preview of what your own flat is about to fetch.
Stop pricing against the outlier. Start pricing against the flat two blocks down that sold last month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are million-dollar HDB flat sales real?
Yes. They typically involve ultra-rare layouts, prime unblocked views, and long remaining leases (90+ years), concentrated in specific developments and mature estates. They represent a small, distinct segment of the market, not the median transaction.
Why does the median HDB price matter more than record-breaking sales?
The median reflects what most flats actually transact for. Record sales are outliers driven by specific, uncommon conditions. Anchoring your price expectations to headline records rather than the median or local comps leads to overpaying or mispricing.
What's the right way to price or evaluate an HDB flat?
Use actual comparable transactions, ideally from the last 90 days and within about 500m of the specific block, rather than islandwide averages or headline-making outlier sales.
Which estates tend to see more million-dollar HDB transactions?
Mature, central estates with long remaining leases and premium units, such as Pinnacle@Duxton, SkyVille@Dawson, and select units in Toa Payoh, Queenstown, and Bidadari, tend to see more of these transactions than the broader market.
Want to know what your flat is really worth?
Let's pull the actual comps for your block, not the headline number, and find your true value.
Usually replies within the day · Isaac Lee, PropNex Realty