Who buys million-dollar HDB flats? Mostly not with extra cash

A rare look at who actually buys Singapore’s million-dollar HDB flats: a PropNex survey of 110 such deals closed in 2025 found that 69.1% of buyers paid no cash-over-valuation at all. Working households in their 30s and 40s dominated the purchases.

Million-dollar flats generate plenty of headlines but very little information about the buyers behind them. PropNex has now filled in some of that picture. In a media release on 17 July 2026, the agency said it surveyed its own salespersons on 110 million-dollar HDB resale transactions they closed in 2025, with prices ranging from $1.0 million to about $1.659 million. PropNex CEO Kelvin Fong noted that transaction data on these flats is plentiful, but knowledge about who buys them and why has been close to nonexistent.

The sample is small, roughly 7% of the 1,593 million-dollar resales recorded in 2025, and PropNex itself was careful not to overstate the findings. But as ground-level evidence, it challenges a common assumption about this market.

Most paid no cash premium

The headline finding: about 69.1% of the surveyed buyers paid no cash-over-valuation, or COV, the amount a buyer pays above the flat’s official valuation, which must be settled entirely in cash. Another 11.8% paid COV of under $40,000, while 6.4% paid $40,000 to under $80,000 and 3.6% paid $80,000 to $100,000. Only 5.5% reportedly paid more than $100,000 above valuation.

COV paid across the 110 surveyed transactions. Source: PropNex Research survey, July 2026.

That matters because COV is often assumed to be the price of entry for hotly contested flats. For most of these deals, valuations kept pace with the agreed prices, so buyers financed the full amount through the usual loan and CPF channels rather than digging into extra cash.

Who the buyers are

Buyers aged 30 to 49 made up about 71% of the transactions. Those in their 30s were largely first-time buyers heading for 4-room and larger flats in Bukit Merah, Kallang Whampoa, Queenstown and Toa Payoh. Buyers in their 40s were mostly upgraders from smaller flats, active in Bishan, Bukit Merah, Clementi, Geylang, Serangoon, Tampines and Toa Payoh.

Buyers aged 50 and above accounted for roughly 24.5% of the sales, and here the pattern flips: a large share were downsizers moving out of private property into a well-located flat. Among buyers aged 60 and up, PropNex found about 71.4% bought the flat as a replacement home after selling a private residence.

By flat type, 4-room units led with 42.7% of the surveyed deals, followed by 5-room flats at 35.5%, executive flats at 20.0% and jumbo units at 1.8%.

Flat types across the 110 surveyed deals. Source: PropNex Research survey, July 2026.

More than 70% of the buyers held PMET jobs. The largest income band, at 35.5% of buyers, reported monthly household income of $10,001 to $16,000, comfortably above the $14,000 BTO income ceiling in many cases, which helps explain why these households shop in the resale market. Location and neighbourhood came through as the most decisive purchase factors, alongside MRT proximity and a high floor. PropNex’s head of research Wong Siew Ying observed that these flats appear to serve different purposes at different life stages: a long-term family base for younger buyers, and a right-sizing landing spot for older ones.

The segment itself keeps growing. PropNex noted that 1,002 HDB flats had already resold for at least $1 million in 2026 as of 16 July, against the full-year record of 1,593 in 2025.

What this means for you

• Do not assume a million-dollar flat demands a six-figure cash top-up. In this survey, nearly 7 in 10 buyers paid no COV at all. A realistic offer backed by a proper valuation often carries the deal.
• If you are eyeing this segment, the competition is mostly dual-income working households in their 30s and 40s, plus cash-rich downsizers. Price accordingly and move decisively on well-located units.
• Sellers should note the flip side: valuations anchor these deals. An asking price far above realistic valuation mostly did not translate into large cash premiums.
• Treat the findings as directional. The sample of 110 deals is about 7% of 2025’s million-dollar transactions, and it reflects deals closed by one agency’s salespersons.