Kenny's Take
A record 491 million-dollar HDB resale flats changed hands in Q2 2026, up 19.5% quarter-on-quarter, at the same time the broader resale price index fell for a second consecutive quarter — that combination is the clearest evidence yet that the HDB market is bifurcating, not softening evenly. SRI's own read is that the record shouldn't be read as broad price strength, and ERA is telling agents buyers now have more bargaining power than they've had in years — both points matter when you're setting expectations with an upgrader client who assumes their flat will fetch what the headlines imply. People's Park Centre's third collective sale attempt, priced 18% below its failed 2021 reserve but arriving with owner consent already locked in, is a read on how developers are pricing city-fringe commercial redevelopment risk right now — worth watching the 16 September tender close as a signal for appetite beyond residential land. And treat Thomson Reserve's 12 September preview date as a working target for shortlist prep, not a confirmed booking — multiple marketing sites repeating the same date isn't the same as the developer saying so.
🏘️ Million-Dollar HDB Sales Hit a Record — But Read the Fine Print
- Q2 2026 saw a record 491 HDB resale flats sell for $1 million or more, up 19.5% quarter-on-quarter and 18.3% year-on-year, now making up 7.7% of all resale transactions — even as the HDB Resale Price Index fell 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, its second straight quarterly decline. Overall resale volume held roughly flat at 6,396 applications (+1.8% q-o-q) but was down 9.9% year-on-year, the weakest second quarter since the Covid years.
- SRI's Mohan Sandrasegeran cautions the record shouldn't be read as broad-based price growth — it reflects concentrated demand in a small premium segment, not the wider market. ERA's Eugene Lim frames the flip side for agents: buyers may now have more bargaining power after several years of a sellers' market. For upgraders, that's two different stories happening at once, and clients need to hear both before they price their own flat's sale.
🏢 People's Park Centre Tries a Third Collective Sale, 18% Cheaper
- People's Park Centre in Chinatown has launched its third collective sale attempt at a $1.48 billion guide price, down 17.8% from the $1.8 billion reserve that drew zero bids in 2021, and above the 2019 attempt at $1.35 billion that failed on owner consent. The tender opened 16 July and closes 16 September 2026 at 3pm.
- This time, owners arrive with 80.54% consent by share value already secured — the exact hurdle that sank the 2019 attempt — removing the biggest execution risk before bidding even starts. The Chinatown MRT-linked site, Singapore's first-ever GLS parcel from 1967, is zoned commercial with an 8.6 plot ratio and a 25-storey height cap — a genuine test of developer appetite for city-fringe commercial redevelopment at scale.
🏗️ Thomson Reserve Preview Date Firming Toward Mid-September
- Thomson Reserve's VVIP preview is increasingly being cited as 12 September 2026, 10am, with several project-marketing channels converging on that specific date and time. The developer — UOL, CapitaLand and SingLand — has not issued an official confirmation, and preliminary guidance of $2,500–$2,700 psf is unchanged.
- Worth prepping upgrader shortlists around this window, but hold off locking client schedules until UOL/CapitaLand/SingLand confirm directly — marketing-site consensus isn't a developer announcement.
🏦 Financing & Rates
- 3M compounded SORA holds at 1.12%, 1M at 1.10%, unchanged since 7 August. Floating-rate home loans continue pricing around 1.9% p.a. all-in — no fresh signal for buyers timing a rate lock this week.
🔭 What I'm watching
- Whether the People's Park Centre tender clears $1.48 billion by 16 September — a strong result would be a genuine read on developer confidence in city-fringe commercial land, not just residential GLS.
- Whether Thomson Reserve's developer confirms the 12 September preview date, and how close final pricing lands to the $2,500–$2,700 psf guidance once it does.