A Bishan DBSS 5-Room Flat Registered at S$1.711 Million: Reading the Current Top of the Official HDB Resale Ranking

The transaction: what the official row shows

The S$1,711,000 price is a single registered resale row in HDB’s official dataset of resale flat prices based on registration date. It matters because it re-anchors the top of Bishan’s own 5-room series, sits in the top three of the official nationwide ranking as checked on 9 October 2026, and turns an unfamiliar size — 120 sqm of DBSS floor space on a high storey band — into a concrete reference point for anyone weighing a top-end HDB purchase, a sale, or an upgrade against private options.

The row records a floor area of 120.00 sqm and a storey band of 37 to 39. The lease commenced in 2011 and the recorded remaining lease is 84 years.

Media reporting identifies Block 273A Bishan Street 24 as part of Natura Loft, a 480-unit DBSS development completed in 2011. That identification tells you which estate the block belongs to; the pricing evidence in this article comes from the official dataset row, which the media figures were consistent with.

Three limits of the row matter for any comparison. First, the floor area is HDB’s approximate area, not a measured area. Second, the storey band is a range, not an exact floor, and the public data does not identify the unit. Third, the public data does not establish renovation, orientation, view, condition or the terms of the parties’ negotiation. The registration month is October 2026 — the dataset’s registration-month field, not an exact agreement or completion date.

The top of the nationwide ranking, as checked today

Sorting the official dataset by total resale price, the top five rows as checked on 9 October 2026 are: S$1,728,000 at Block 96A Henderson Road (Bukit Merah, 5-room, 113 sqm, April 2026); S$1,720,000 at Block 1C Cantonment Road (Central Area, 5-room, 107 sqm, September 2026); S$1,711,000 at Block 273A Bishan Street 24 (Bishan, 5-room DBSS, 120 sqm, October 2026); S$1,701,000 at Block 1B Cantonment Road (Central Area, 5-room, 107 sqm, September 2026); and S$1,700,000 at Block 92 Dawson Road (Queenstown, 5-room, 122 sqm, February 2026).

Five observations follow. All five top rows are 5-room flats. The Bishan row is the largest by floor area (120 sqm) and the most recent by registration month. The Central Area blocks that appear twice are both part of The Pinnacle@Duxton. And the ranking is a snapshot: the official data is updated daily, and October 2026 registrations are still arriving, so the position can move.

This is a ranking within the January 2017-onward series, checked at one point in time. It is not an all-time national record, and it is not a price-per-area ranking — the areas differ across rows.

Bishan 5-rooms and the Natura Loft series

Within Bishan’s 5-room rows (1,259 rows in the dataset), the S$1,711,000 flat is the highest. The next two are S$1,632,000 at Block 275A Bishan Street 24 (120 sqm, storey band 34 to 36, November 2025) and S$1,620,000 at Block 273B Bishan Street 24 (120 sqm, storey band 31 to 33, August 2026). The difference between the new row and the previous top Bishan 5-room row is S$79,000 (S$1,711,000 minus S$1,632,000). Media reported the transaction in the first half of October 2026 using this estate-level framing.

Looking at recent Natura Loft 5-room registrations in the official data, the series is: S$1,632,000 in November 2025 (275A, storey band 34 to 36); S$1,580,000 in March 2026 (273A, 22 to 24); S$1,580,000 in July 2026 (273B, 28 to 30); S$1,620,000 in August 2026 (273B, 31 to 33); S$1,600,000 in September 2026 (273A, 31 to 33); and S$1,711,000 in October 2026 (273A, 37 to 39).

Each of these is a different flat, in a different block or storey band, registered in a different month. The series shows the range of prices registered at the estate in this period; it is not a price-growth measure, and the registration month is not an exact transaction date.

Per sqm and per sqft: the unit that changes the number

One common error when reading comparable prices is mixing up the area unit. Dividing the registered price by the official floor area gives S$14,258.33 per sqm for this flat (S$1,711,000 divided by 120 sqm). That figure is a price per square metre, because the official floor area is recorded in square metres.

To express the same transaction per square foot, convert the area using 1 sq ft = 0.09290304 sqm. The 120 sqm area equals 1,291.66 sqft, and the derived price is approximately S$1,324.67 per sq ft (about S$1,325 psf). Both figures describe the same registered transaction; they differ only in the unit of area. A figure in the thousands of dollars per square metre is not comparable to a figure of roughly 1,300 dollars per square foot without that conversion.

These are derived calculations from the official price and area, rounded. They are not HDB-published price-per-area figures. Media reporting of this transaction used the same conversion, citing S$1,324 psf for the 1,292 sqft area. Ranking rows by total price does not tell you which flat has the highest price per square foot, because the areas differ.

What this transaction does not establish

A single registered sale is a data point, not a valuation. This price does not establish a value for any other flat in this block or any other, and it does not establish a wider price trend for the estate or the estate type. There is no causal claim here for why this flat registered where it did — the public row does not establish the reasons, and this article does not read them into the record.

It also does not make this flat the most expensive HDB flat of any type, or a national price-per-area record. The scope of the dataset (registration date from January 2017 onwards, checked at one point in time) and the nature of the ranking (total price, among rows with different areas) set the boundary of what can be said.

Media around this transaction used both an estate-level record frame and a ‘third-highest nationwide’ frame. This article keeps both claims in their checked scope: the estate-level position within Bishan’s 5-room rows, and the national position within the January 2017-onward dataset as checked on 9 October 2026. It does not adopt an unrestricted all-time record claim, and it does not use this single transaction to comment on the wider market.

Planning considerations for buyers and sellers

For a buyer comparing top-end flats, the practical habits this example supports: compare the same flat type, read the area unit, and keep the total price, the price per sqm and the price per sq ft straight. Total price alone can mislead across areas and floor bands — a higher total on a bigger flat or a higher floor may be a different proposition per unit area — and area units can silently change a number by a factor of eleven.

A buyer weighing a DBSS 5-room at a central-estate price level against private resale options at a similar total quantum, or a seller testing asking-price expectations for a high-floor DBSS flat, is making exactly this kind of comparison. A nearby high registered price is context, not a mandate: the comparable value depends on the specific flat’s area, floor, condition and the prevailing rules, and on the household’s actual position. Review stamp duty exposure and the applicable duties, financing options and legal implications before committing; where required, take legal or tax advice. No outcome is guaranteed.

On the decision-making guides this example connects to, the site’s existing HDB resale planning page and the recent Pinnacle@Duxton transaction articles cover the ground: the comparables method, the record-transaction context and the planning steps. This article is the Bishan comparables example; those pages are the planning references.

Where the household’s move involves reviewing an EC or a wider upgrade, the EC Upgrading review of ownership, financing and legal implications is available for the actual position, not the headline price.

FAQ

This article provides general educational information based on the official HDB resale dataset via data.gov.sg, checked 9 October 2026. It does not value an individual flat, predict future prices or replace legal, tax, CPF, mortgage or financial advice. Verify the latest official figures and estate-level evidence before committing.