A fortnight ago, a 149 sq m (1,604 sq ft), five-room, loft unit in Punggol Sapphire was sold for $910,888. It was a new high for an HDB flat in the suburban public housing estate in the northeast region.

The seller, Singaporean Mr Ang, says he had purchased the unit jointly with his wife when the Punggol Sapphire was launched in a Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise in 2008. Located at the junction of Punggol Way and Punggol Field, Punggol Sapphire has a total of 1,065 flats of which 1,000 are four- and five-room units, with another 23 loft units ranging from 1,001 sq ft to 1,604 sq ft.

The units were oversubscribed by three times, with 3,073 bids at the close of the BTO exercise in 2008. However, Ang and his wife succeeded in purchasing their loft unit for $452,000 then.

Like all owners of HDB flats purchased under the BTO scheme, Ang and his wife are only allowed to sell their unit after the five-year minimum occupation period (MOP), which in his case, was last May.

https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/why-punggol-hdb-flats-are-hitting-record-prices