Unique 1-Room HDB Flat with 46 Years Left in Bukit Merah Asking for $1.5 Million

While most of us are struggling to pay our bills, there’s a certain property up for sale at Tiong Poh Road which is asking for a selling price of $1.5 million.

This unique one-room flat located at Blk 64 Tiong Poh Road spans a total of 1,259 square feet with a lease balance of 46 years.

It’s rare to find such spacious a flat which is a cross between the size of a five-room and jumbo flat.

Yet, it’s of no surprise that flats located at Tiong Bahru area are of such sky-high prices.

Not long ago, a four-room flat located at Blk 43 Moh Guan Terrace with just over 51 years of lease left was sold at a whopping price of $1,088,000.

A search at any property site will show you how high the price can be for flats at the Tiong Bahru area:

It ranges around $800,000 to $1 million.

Singapore Improvement Trust

Now, back to this unique one-room flat. The reason why we can still find such big homes in Singapore is that they were built by SIT (Singapore Improvement Trust).

The SIT was formed in 1927 to build houses for our Ah Gong Ah Ma.

During those days where Singapore was still a developing country, SIT was the one in charge of building homes for Singaporeans. These flats which SIT built were located at places such as Old Airport Road and Tiong Bahru.

After SIT dissolved in 1959, the Housing Development Board (HDB) then took over in 1960.

That was when our flats started to get taller due to land scarcity.

Location

Furthermore, Tiong Bahru is a conserved area and located near the central area of Singapore (Orchard is just a few bus stops away).

Plus, it’s the home of many hipster cafes with a rustic feel to the entire neighbourhood.

It is of little wonder why this flat is able to command such a price.

Ironically, based on the Straits Times report, the prices for private homes have dropped in Q2 this year by 1.1%.

But it seems that the pandemic hasn’t dampened the demand for people looking for suitable (and costly) properties.

If you’re looking for somewhere that’s of an affordable price range to stay with your other half, do check out the BTO / Sales of Balance flats launches released by HDB.

Trust me, they’re no private properties but you wouldn’t know by looking at them.