The sale of a three-year-old five-room HDB flat in Toa Payoh (pictured) back in February has caused quite a bit of buzz online with some netizens wondering how the owner was able to sell the flat for S$894,000, which was more than twice its original price.
Sold just three years after its completion, the flat located between the 36th and 40th floors of Block 79C in Toa Payoh Central has created a new record price for the area.
According to a HDB spokesman, the block was constructed as a replacement block to relocate residents under the Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS). The flats have a Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of five years from the effective date of purchase or seven years from the selection date of the unit, whichever is earlier.
"For SERS replacement flats that have met the requisite period, the flat owners may sell them in the open market. For the case you (netizens) cited, the seller had already met the seven-year MOP, and hence was eligible to sell his flat in the open market," noted the spokesman.
Commenting on the case, Mohamed Ismail, Chief Executive of PropNex Realty said "the seller was lucky for a number of reasons."
"He has fulfilled the seven years under SERS. He may also have bought it at a slight discount under the SERS subsidy. And the flat has a central location in Toa Payoh."
HDB's website showed that the median resale price for a five-room unit in Toa Payoh in Q4 2011 was S$645,000.
The owner had expected to sell the unit at over S$900,000 but eventually settled for S$894,000, said Shawn Guan, the ERA agent who represented the seller.
