A Woodlands Executive Flat Sold for $1.01 Million. Size Was the Standout

A 1,582 sq ft executive apartment on Woodlands Street 81 sold for $1.01 million in May 2026. The unit was between the 10th and 12th storeys and had about 66 years and eight months left on its lease, according to transaction data derived from HDB records.[S1]

That works out to roughly $638 per sq ft. More importantly for families, the transaction puts a price on something increasingly hard to find in the HDB resale market: a very large flat that can accommodate several bedrooms, generous shared spaces and changing household needs.

Why this flat commanded more than the town median

The closest broad official benchmark is HDB’s median resale price for executive flats in Woodlands. The reported Q2 2026 figure was $916,500, putting this sale $93,500—or about 10.2%—above that midpoint.[S2]

That calculation is useful for spotting an exceptional deal, but it is not a valuation of this flat or anybody else’s. A town-wide median mixes homes of different sizes, floors, locations, conditions and remaining leases. HDB also withholds town-and-flat-type medians when fewer than 20 resale cases are registered because small samples may not be representative.[S2]

Floor area is the obvious distinguishing feature here. At about 147 sq m, this executive apartment offers substantially more space than a typical modern four-room or five-room flat.[S1] Buyers looking specifically for such dimensions must choose from the existing stock of older executive flats; new flats of this type are no longer being built.

Renovation and floor level can influence what an individual buyer will offer, but they cannot be separated neatly from the final price using the public transaction record. The sound conclusion is narrower: this particular large flat found a buyer at $1.01 million. It is a relevant comparable for similar executive apartments nearby, not a new price tag for Woodlands as a whole.

The agreed price is not HDB’s value

A buyer who wants to use CPF savings or take a housing loan must distinguish between the negotiated resale price and HDB’s value of the flat.

After the sellers grant an Option to Purchase, the buyer submits a Request for Value to HDB. HDB’s resulting value is used to determine the permitted CPF usage and as a reference for housing financing; a portal estimate, nearby transaction or seller’s asking price cannot replace it.[S3]

Suppose, purely as a planning example, that HDB valued this flat at the full $1.01 million and the buyers qualified for the maximum 75% HDB loan-to-value limit. The indicative maximum loan would be:

• 75% of $1.01 million: $757,500
• Difference before stamp duty, legal costs and other expenses: $252,500

This is arithmetic, not an HDB loan approval. The actual loan depends on the lower of the resale price and HDB value, as well as the household’s eligibility, income, age, existing financial commitments and remaining lease.[S4]

If HDB’s value were below the agreed price, the difference above that value would have to be covered in cash. That is why buyers should not commit every available dollar to the initial payment before receiving the official value and working through the full purchase budget.[S3]

The remaining lease can affect two families differently

The lease had approximately 66 years and eight months remaining when the transaction was recorded.[S1] That does not automatically make the flat easy—or difficult—to finance.

For CPF use, the remaining lease must generally be at least 20 years. Whether buyers can use CPF up to the applicable valuation and obtain the full HDB loan-to-value limit also depends on whether the lease can cover the youngest buyer to age 95. If it cannot, CPF usage and the HDB loan limit may be pro-rated.[S4]

This produces a practical difference between households. A younger buyer may have the lease covering them to age 95, while an older buyer purchasing the same home may face lower financing limits. Buyers should therefore check the remaining lease against their own ages rather than relying on a general description such as “more than 60 years left”.[S4]

Before sellers grant an Option to Purchase, prospective buyers also need a valid HDB Flat Eligibility letter—the HFE letter. It provides the household’s preliminary assessment for buying a flat, taking an HDB loan and receiving eligible CPF housing grants.[S3]

Sellers need to plan proceeds and timing together

An eye-catching transaction price is not the same as the amount a seller can carry straight into the next home. Owners should work from their estimated net sale proceeds after settling the outstanding housing loan, required CPF refund and transaction expenses.

The financing choice for the next flat matters too. For eligible buyers taking a second HDB housing loan, HDB may require them to use the CPF refund and part of the cash proceeds from their existing flat before determining the second loan amount.[S4] That can change how much cash remains for renovation, temporary accommodation or the gap between completing one transaction and collecting the keys to another.

Before marketing a flat, owners must also meet the applicable Minimum Occupation Period, or MOP. HDB measures this from the legal completion date of the purchase and excludes periods when the owners did not occupy the flat, including an approved period of renting out the whole unit.[S5]

Eligibility is only one part of the resale check. The transaction must also comply with the Ethnic Integration Policy and, where applicable, the Singapore Permanent Resident quota when the resale application is submitted.[S5] Because quota availability can change, sellers should check the current position through HDB rather than treating an earlier enquiry as a lasting clearance.

This makes move timing a household cash-flow question, not just a choice of completion date. A seller buying another home may need to coordinate the sale, CPF refund, financing approval and key collection—and budget for temporary housing if those dates do not line up.

Woodlands has a bigger future, but this was one specific home

Woodlands Regional Centre is planned as the economic hub of Singapore’s Northern Gateway, with a mix of office, retail, industrial, residential and community uses.[S6] Those plans provide meaningful neighbourhood context, especially for households that value access to northern employment areas and future amenities.

They do not explain precisely how much of this flat’s $1.01 million price came from location, size, renovation or buyer preference. Public transaction data records the deal, not each side’s motivation.

For owners of similar flats, the sale is best used as one comparable among several recent transactions with similar floor area, storey range, lease and location. For buyers, it is a reminder that scarce family space may carry a sizeable premium—but the workable budget is still decided by HDB’s value, the household’s ages and eligibility, and the money left after financing the move.

Planning a resale move? Start with your HFE letter, MOP date and remaining lease—not the headline price.