ASIAONE : Jumbo Queenstown flat valued at $1m

Jumbo Queenstown flat valued at $1m

15-year-old unit along Strathmore Ave is about 40% larger than most units there. -AsiaOne

Fri, Mar 05, 2010
AsiaOne

A Housing Development Board (HDB) flat in Queenstown has been valued at close to a million dollars, and its owner is considering selling the unit.

The 15-year-old apartment is one of units in the 25-storey blocks along Strathmore Avenue in Queenstown. It is about 10 minutes away from Queenstown MRT station, has a balcony, and reportedly an unobstructed view.

The property agent selling this unit told Shin Min Daily that based on the floor area, the flat has been valued at about $1 million.

Shin Min Daily reports that the flat's floor area totals 192 square metres, which is about 2000 square feet. Based on HDB statistics, Queenstown flats can fetch about $400 to $450 per square foot. Based on the rate of $450 psf, the unit is valued at more than $900,000.

However, units along Strathmore Avenue can often fetch a higher price. For example, in February, a flat of 110 square metres was sold for $688,000, which averages out to close to $600 psf. Looking at the transactions of five-room flats in that area in the last three months , the average price psf of is about $540.

Mr Steven Tan, executive director of property firm OrangeTee told Shin Min Daily that the average price psf of flats in that area should be above $500.

Property agents say that flats in that area usually transact in the range of $700,000, but they have not come across a flat of that size.

Mr Lim Yong Hock, senior vice president of PropNex told Shin Min Daily that most buyers of HDB flats will not have a budget of $1 million. For the same amount, the buyer can buy a unit in Toa Payoh, Redhill or Tiong Bahru, which are even nearer to town.