Million-dollar Hdb Flats: Most Singapore Buyers Paid No Cov In 2025 — Propnex Report

SINGAPORE: Buying a million-dollar HDB resale flat doesn’t always mean paying a hefty cash premium. A new PropNex survey found that nearly seven in 10 buyers of million-dollar HDB resale flats in 2025 paid no cash over valuation (COV).

Many of these record-priced homes were sold at their assessed market value instead of above it.

The findings challenge the idea that million-dollar resale flats are driven by buyers willing to pay large cash premiums. Instead, the survey suggests the market has accepted higher valuations for some sought-after flats, The Business Times reported (July 17).

Most deals matched the official valuation

PropNex said 69.1% of buyers paid no COV. Another 11.8% paid less than S$40,000 in COV. Around 6.4% paid between S$40,000 and S$80,000, while 3.6% paid between S$80,000 and S$100,000.

About 5.5% paid more than S$100,000. Buyers in another 3.6% of transactions were unsure of the COV paid.

COV applies when the agreed resale price exceeds the HDB valuation, and the difference must be paid fully in cash. If the resale price matches the valuation, no COV is required.

The survey covered 110 million-dollar HDB resale transactions completed by PropNex salespersons in 2025. Prices ranged from S$1 million to about S$1.7 million. Most sales took place in Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah, Kallang Whampoa, Queenstown and Clementi.

Different buyers had different reasons

People aged between 30 and 49 accounted for about 71% of the transactions tracked.

Among buyers aged 30 to 39, around 40.5% bought a million-dollar resale flat as their first home. In the 40-49 age group, 46% upgraded from a smaller HDB flat.

Older buyers also formed part of the market. Those aged 60 and above accounted for 12.7% of sales, with about 71% buying after selling their private homes. PropNex said many were using the move to free up housing wealth while settling into a replacement home for retirement.

The survey also found many buyers in their 30s and 40s had monthly household incomes above S$10,000, giving them stronger buying power built through savings, CPF balances and career progression.

Million-dollar flats are no longer rare

The resale market continues to produce new million-dollar transactions at a brisk pace.

From Jan 1 to July 16 this year, 1,002 HDB resale flats had already crossed the S$1 million mark. That puts 2026 on course to match or even exceed the record 1,593 such transactions recorded throughout 2025, according to PropNex.

The agency said demand is supported by changing lifestyles, rising household wealth and different housing needs across life stages. It added that keeping enough homes available across different price ranges will be important, so households with different budgets can still find suitable housing.

The survey suggests the bigger story isn’t buyers throwing cash around. It’s how parts of Singapore’s resale market have matured to the point where seven-figure valuations are becoming accepted by both buyers and valuers.

Keeping housing affordable across every price segment will matter just as much as tracking the next resale record.

Read related: The rise of million-dollar HDBs in Singapore: A sign of housing success or a threat to housing affordability?

This article (Million-dollar HDB flats: Most Singapore buyers paid no COV in 2025 — PropNex report) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.