# Survey Reveals Profile of Million-Dollar HDB Buyers in Singapore

- **Source:** Stacked Homes
- **Published:** 2026-07-29T11:43:15.000Z
- **Author:** Sihan Chia
- **Original:** https://stackedhomes.com/a-new-survey-reveals-the-typical-million-dollar-hdb-buyer-in-singapore-including-a-surprising-buying-trend/
- **Topics:** HDB & Public Housing, Private Residential, Transactions & Deals

## Featured rationale

The findings signal that million-dollar flats are increasingly valuation-supported homes serving younger aspirational buyers, public-housing upgraders and older private-home right-sizers as a distinct resale tier.

## AI summary

A PropNex survey of 110 million-dollar HDB deals in 2025 found 71% of buyers were aged 30–49 and 69.1% paid no Cash-Over-Valuation.

## Original article

Most Singaporeans have encountered headline-grabbing articles about the rising numbers of million-dollar flats, or eye-watering amounts of money that some homeowners seem willing to pay for specific resale flats.

If you’ve ever wondered who these buyers are, and what propelled them to fork out over a million dollars for public housing, a consumer survey by PropNex Singapore gives us a clearer picture.

This consumer survey of recent million-dollar flat buyers was conducted by PropNex agents who were instrumental in closing 110 million-dollar HDB resale transactions in 2025. The buyer characteristics were provided by these agents, who drew on their interaction with the buyers.

As the number of resale flat transactions crossing seven figures steadily increased over the years, 2025 saw a sharp increase in such transactions.

So far this year, from Jan 1 to July 16, there were at least 1,002 resale flats that transacted for at least $1 million, according to transaction data. This means that we are on track to meet or exceed the record 1,593 million-dollar flat sales that was recorded in the entire 2025.

The number of HDB flats resold for at least $1 million as per transaction data has grown significantly between 2024-2025 and looks set to continue this year. (Chart: PropNex)

But while there is no shortage of transaction data on million-dollar resale flats, there is almost nothing on who bought them or why. For property agencies like PropNex, getting to the bottom of understanding why a growing number of homeowners are willing to pay top dollar for public housing helps dispel assumptions.

According to Kelvin Fong, CEO of PropNex, the company took the initiative to find out rather than speculate. “We reached out to our salespersons who closed these deals in 2025 and gathered responses reflecting 110 such transactions, a modest base that we hope to build on and sharpen over time,” he says.

He cautions that these initial findings shouldn’t be overstated, but they nonetheless offer useful ground-level perspectives on this prominent group of buyers.

It was found that while buyers cut across different age groups, a significant proportion of the transactions, about 71%, were from buyers aged 30–39 and 40–49 years old. In addition, about 7-in-10 of the million-dollar HDB resale flat buyers were in white collar professionals in PMET (professional, managerial, executive, technical) roles.

When it came to monthly household income, 35.5% of buyers, which form the largest single band, earned between $10,001 and $16,000 a month. A further 20.0% earned $16,001 to $20,000, while 3.6% earned $20,001 to $25,000, and 2.7% earned above $25,000.

On the other hand, 11.8% earned between $5,000 and $10,000, and 0.9% below $5,000.

The PropNex survey of salespersons who transacted 110 units of million-dollar HDB resale flats in 2025 suggests the segment is serving different needs across age groups. (Image: PropNex)

PropNex did caution that these household income ranges should be viewed as indicative, since their salespersons were unsure of the household income or the buyer did not disclose such personal financial details.

However, those aged between 50 to 59 years who bought the flats as retirement homes comprise 24.5% of the transactions. From this buyer pool, 30.8% of buyers had downsized from a private home, while 15.4% had relocated from a larger HDB flat.

For buyers aged 60 years and above (mostly retirees), 71.4% have downsized from a private home before purchasing the million-dollar HDB resale flat as their replacement home. The million-dollar resale flats purchased by this group of buyers were four-room flats with resale prices ranging from $1.0 million to $1.328 million.

Larger flat types driving momentum for million-dollar deals

Unexpectedly, the survey also uncovered that four-room resale flats were the most popular type of million-dollar, accounting for 42.7% of the deals, followed by 35.5% for five-room flats, 20% for executive flats, and 1.8% for jumbo flats.

Anecdotally, it was assumed that the bulk of million-dollar resale transactions involved five-room flats. This is because their relatively larger size corresponds with higher selling prices, while the relative scarcity of five-room flats compared to four-room flats helped support the higher asking prices.

The view from the top of Bendemeer Light towards Kallang.

Wong Siew Ying, Head of Research and Content at PropNex, says that the latest survey findings reiterate that flats – even million-dollar flats – serve different purposes based on the buyers’ life stages.

“For younger buyers, a million-dollar resale flat may be an aspirational first home. For mid-career families, it could be an upgrading pathway that stays within the public housing segment,” says Wong.

On the other hand, for older buyers, it may often be a right-sizing move, one that potentially trades unit size for location and convenience, whether they are coming from a private home or a larger flat.

Centrally-located and mature housing estates appeal the most to first-time buyers and upgraders

For first-time homebuyers aged 30 to 39, the type of million-dollar flats that this group usually purchased were four-room, five-room, executive, and jumbo flats in towns such as Bukit Merah, Kallang Whampoa, Queenstown, and Toa Payoh. The units that these buyers usually purchased range from $1 million to $1.659 million.

For upgraders in the 40 to 49-year-old age group, they were split between OCR and RCR in locations including Bishan, Bukit Merah, Clementi, Geylang, Serangoon, Tampines, and Toa Payoh. They bought five-room and executive flats priced between $1.0 million to $1.38 million.

From the survey, four-room units account for the highest number of million-dollar transactions while Toa Payoh took the crown for the highest proportion of transactions. (Chart: PropNex)

The million-dollar sales facilitated by PropNex agents last year included units at:

Alkaff Courtview in Bidadari Park Drive

Clementi Crest on Clementi Ave 3

Park Central at Ang Mo Kio St 22

The Peak @ Toa Payoh along Lor 1A Toa Payoh

Telok Blangah ParcView on Telok Blangah St 31

Havelock View in Alexandra

The Pinnacle @ Duxton on Cantonment Rd

City View @ Boon Keng along Boon Keng Rd

St George’s Towers off Serangoon Rd

SkyTerrace @ Dawson in Queenstown

Ghim Moh Edge off Commonwealth Ave West

Meanwhile, Stacked recently published a case study of a couple in their early 30s, and serves as an example of how homeowners are becoming more selective right from their first flat purchase, focusing on the development’s potential price appreciation. The couple opted for a four-room resale unit at a fairly new BTO development Bedok South Horizon, which started seeing million-dollar resale transactions in early 2026.

This couple make up a majority of buyers (about 69.1%) who did not pay Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) for their resale transactions, according to the PropNex survey.

For those who had to pay additional cash out of their pocket, 11.8% of the buyers paid COV of below $40,000, about 6.4% forked out COV of between $40,000 and less than $80,000, while 3.6% of the buyers paid $80,000 to $100,000 in COV for their flat.

About 5.5% of the buyers reportedly paid COV in excess of $100,000.

With most of these flats transacted without COV, this indicates that the million-dollar HDB resale prices are supported by official valuations.

Proximity to schools ranked low among the pull factors

When asked about the factors that drew them to their purchases, buyer responses include interest in the particular town or neighbourhood, proximity to an MRT station, and a high floor as the leading attractions.

Two-person households formed 31.8% of the transactions, while the top three factors for paying for million-dollar flats include interest in the town, proximity to MRT and high floor units. (Chart: PropNex)

Across the board, the least instrumental factors cited were proximity to good schools, the physical condition of the flat, and being priced out of private homes in the same locale.

Resale market pulled back as price growth trends up

In 2025, the resale market pulled back by 11% y-o-y, dropping from 27,832 transactions in 2024 to 24,784 transactions, with the highest resale price increases for four-room units by 7.1%) and 7% for the five-room units.

2025 was also the year which saw the end of the selective en bloc redevelopment scheme (SERS), as the government’s focus turned towards developing the framework for the voluntary early redevelopment scheme (VERS).

While million-dollar flats remain an outlier in the broader HDB resale market, they could be increasingly perceived by buyers as a distinct tier. This is evident from the exponential increase in the number of such transactions in recent years, driven mainly by changing lifestyle preferences and housing priorities.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok_cli

### 调查揭示新加坡百万新元组屋买家画像

PropNex对2025年110宗百万新元组屋转售交易的调查显示买家构成：30多岁与40多岁的PMET专业人士、从私人住宅缩居的退休人士，以及完全未支付估价差额现金的买家。

大多数新加坡人都曾读到过有关百万新元组屋数量上升的醒目标题文章，或某些屋主似乎愿意为特定转售组屋支付令人咋舌金额的报道。

如果你曾好奇这些买家是谁，以及是什么促使他们为公共住房掏出超过一百万元，PropNex Singapore的一项消费者调查为我们勾勒出更清晰的图景。

这项针对近期百万新元组屋买家的消费者调查，由在2025年促成110宗百万新元组屋转售交易中发挥关键作用的PropNex经纪进行。买家特征由这些经纪根据与买家的互动提供。

随着突破七位数的转售组屋交易量多年来稳步上升，2025年此类交易出现急剧增加。

截至今年1月1日至7月16日，根据交易数据，至少有1,002套转售组屋以至少100万新元成交。这意味着我们有望达到或超过整个2025年创下的1,593宗百万新元组屋销售纪录。

根据交易数据，以至少100万新元转售的HDB组屋数量在2024-2025年间显著增长，今年看来也将延续这一趋势。（图表：PropNex）

然而，尽管百万新元转售组屋的交易数据并不短缺，关于谁买了、为什么买的信息却几乎阙如。对PropNex这样的房地产中介公司而言，弄清为何越来越多屋主愿意为公共住房支付高价，有助于澄清各种假设。

据PropNex首席执行官Kelvin Fong表示，公司主动去了解，而非凭空臆测。“我们联系了在2025年促成这些交易的销售人员，收集了反映110宗此类交易的回复，这是一个尚属温和的样本基础，我们希望日后能够扩大并加以细化，”他说。

他提醒，这些初步发现不宜被过度解读，但它们仍为这一突出买家群体提供了有用的一线视角。

调查发现，尽管买家跨越不同年龄段，约71%的交易来自30–39岁与40–49岁的买家。此外，约七成百万新元组屋转售买家为从事PMET（专业、管理、行政、技术）岗位的白领专业人士。

在每月家庭收入方面，35.5%的买家（占比最大的单一区间）月收入在10,001至16,000新元之间。另有20.0%月收入为16,001至20,000新元，3.6%为20,001至25,000新元，2.7%超过25,000新元。

另一方面，11.8%月收入在5,000至10,000新元之间，0.9%低于5,000新元。

PropNex对在2025年促成110套百万新元组屋转售交易的销售人员所做调查显示，这一细分市场正满足不同年龄群体的不同需求。（图片：PropNex）

PropNex也提醒，这些家庭收入区间应视为参考性数据，因为其销售人员对家庭收入并不确定，或买家未披露此类个人财务细节。

不过，50至59岁将组屋作为退休居所购买的买家占交易的24.5%。在这一买家群体中，30.8%从私人住宅缩居，15.4%从更大的组屋搬迁而来。

对于60岁及以上的买家（多为退休人士），71.4%在购买百万新元组屋转售单位作为替换居所前，已从私人住宅缩居。该群体所购百万新元转售组屋为四房式，转售价格介于100万新元至132.8万新元。

较大户型推动百万新元交易动能

出人意料的是，调查还发现四房式转售组屋是最受欢迎的百万新元类型，占交易的42.7%，其次是五房式占35.5%，执行式组屋占20%，超大型（jumbo）组屋占1.8%。

坊间曾假设百万新元转售交易的主体是五房式组屋。因为其相对较大的面积对应较高售价，而五房式相对四房式更为稀缺，也有助于支撑更高的叫价。

从Bendemeer Light顶端望向Kallang的景色。

PropNex研究与内容主管Wong Siew Ying表示，最新调查结果再次表明，组屋——即便是百万新元组屋——也会根据买家的人生阶段服务于不同目的。

“对年轻买家而言，百万新元转售组屋可能是理想中的首套居所。对事业中期的家庭来说，它可能是仍留在公共住房板块内的升级路径，”Wong说。

另一方面，对年长买家而言，这往往是一次合理调整居住规模（right-sizing）的举动，可能以单位面积换取地段与便利，无论他们来自私人住宅还是更大的组屋。

市中心与成熟组屋区最吸引首次置业者与升级买家

对于30至39岁的首次置业者，该群体通常购买的百万新元组屋类型为四房式、五房式、执行式与超大型组屋，所在市镇包括Bukit Merah、Kallang Whampoa、Queenstown与Toa Payoh。这些买家通常购入的单位价格介于100万新元至165.9万新元。

对于40至49岁的升级买家，他们在OCR与RCR之间分化，地点包括Bishan、Bukit Merah、Clementi、Geylang、Serangoon、Tampines与Toa Payoh。他们购入的五房式与执行式组屋价格介于100万新元至138万新元。

调查显示，四房式单位占百万新元交易数量最多，而Toa Payoh在交易占比方面居首。（图表：PropNex）

PropNex经纪去年促成的百万新元销售包括下列项目的单位：

Bidadari Park Drive的Alkaff Courtview

Clementi Ave 3的Clementi Crest

Ang Mo Kio St 22的Park Central

Lor 1A Toa Payoh的The Peak @ Toa Payoh

Telok Blangah St 31的Telok Blangah ParcView

Alexandra的Havelock View

Cantonment Rd的The Pinnacle @ Duxton

Boon Keng Rd的City View @ Boon Keng

Serangoon Rd旁的St George’s Towers

Queenstown的SkyTerrace @ Dawson

Commonwealth Ave West旁的Ghim Moh Edge

与此同时，Stacked近期发布了一对30岁出头夫妇的案例研究，可作为屋主从首套组屋购买起就更趋挑剔、关注项目潜在升值空间的例证。这对夫妇选择了较新的预购组屋（BTO）项目Bedok South Horizon的一套四房式转售单位，该项目自2026年初起开始出现百万新元转售交易。

根据PropNex调查，这对夫妇属于多数买家（约69.1%），在转售交易中未支付估价差额现金（Cash-Over-Valuation，COV）。

对于需要自掏腰包额外支付现金的买家，11.8%支付的COV低于40,000新元，约6.4%支付40,000至不足80,000新元的COV，而3.6%的买家为组屋支付了80,000至100,000新元的COV。

约5.5%的买家据报支付了超过100,000新元的COV。

由于这些组屋大多在无COV的情况下成交，这表明百万新元组屋转售价格得到官方估价支撑。

邻近学校在吸引力因素中排名靠后

当被问及吸引他们购买的因素时，买家的回答包括对特定市镇或邻里的兴趣、靠近地铁站，以及高楼层为主要吸引力。

两人家庭占交易的31.8%，而支付百万新元组屋的前三大因素包括对市镇的兴趣、靠近地铁与高楼层单位。（图表：PropNex）

总体而言，被引用最少、作用最弱的因素是邻近优质学校、组屋的实际状况，以及被同区域私人住宅价格挤出市场。

转售市场回落，价格增长趋势上行

2025年，转售市场同比回落11%，从2024年的27,832宗交易降至24,784宗，其中四房式单位转售价格涨幅最高，达7.1%，五房式单位为7%。

2025年也是选择性整体重建计划（SERS）结束的一年，政府重点转向制定自愿提早重建计划（VERS）框架。

尽管百万新元组屋在更广泛的组屋转售市场中仍属异数，买家可能越来越将其视为一个独特层级。近年来此类交易数量呈指数级增长便是明证，主要受生活方式偏好与住房优先事项变化所驱动。