planHDB reviews scheme behind S$2.18m Telok Blangah jumbo-flat listing
Two adjoining three-room flats became one 1,465 sq ft home—and prompted a review of the conversion route.
At Block 93B Telok Blangah Street 31, two adjoining three-room flats were combined into a 1,465 sq ft home and advertised for S$2.18 million. That unusually high asking price has now put the HDB scheme used to create the home under review.
HDB said on 25 September 2026 that it would review the Conversion Scheme following public feedback. Crucially, it had received no resale application for the flat at that point: S$2.18 million was the seller’s initial asking price, not a completed transaction or a new resale record.
How the combined flat came about
The owners bought their first three-room flat directly from HDB in December 2017. In August 2021, they acquired the adjoining resale flat after its owner was allowed to sell during the minimum occupation period because of family circumstances.
The minimum occupation period, usually called the MOP, is the time owners generally must live in an HDB flat before selling it. Under the Conversion Scheme, an approved pair of adjoining flats becomes one combined home under a single lease and is subject to a fresh MOP.
HDB’s resale materials include a dedicated application route for buying two adjoining flats under the scheme. A separate enquiry form requires information about both homes and the proposed buyers, reflecting that the combination remains subject to HDB’s assessment rather than happening automatically.
The resulting Telok Blangah home is considerably larger than either original unit. Its listing described 1,465 sq ft of floor area and about 91 years remaining on the lease.
Why the S$2.18 million figure drew attention
HDB provided a comparison using individual three-room flats nearby. These had sold for approximately S$673,000 to S$771,000 over the preceding six months. Two flats at the top of that range would total about S$1.54 million, making the initial ask roughly S$640,000 higher, or 41.6% above that two-flat comparison.
That calculation makes the gap easier to understand, but it is not an independent valuation. A combined flat is physically different from two separate homes: it offers one much larger living space, while its unusual configuration may also make direct comparisons difficult.
The eventual resale price will depend on what a buyer agrees to pay and the value accepted for financing. HDB said a transaction at the initial advertised price would probably involve substantial cash over valuation, or COV—the portion above HDB’s valuation that a buyer must cover fully in cash rather than with CPF savings or a housing loan.
The advertised amount has already moved. A later block listing page showed a top asking price of S$1,999,999, below the original S$2.18 million but still only an advertised figure.
What HDB is reviewing
The Conversion Scheme exists to let eligible households create a larger home by acquiring an adjoining flat. This case attracted public concern because two public-housing units approved for combination were subsequently marketed as one rare home at an exceptional price, prompting HDB to say it would examine the scheme again.
HDB did not announce revised conditions, an immediate suspension or a schedule for completing that review. The announcement therefore starts a policy process; it does not itself change the rules.
For now, HDB’s published resale information continues to describe the application route, while its conversion form remains available for households seeking an assessment. Whether either document changes will be one practical indication of what follows from the review.
The two outcomes to watch
One possible development is a resale application for the Telok Blangah home. That would replace the attention-grabbing advertisement with a price that an actual buyer has agreed to pay, although the deal would still need to complete before becoming a recorded transaction.
The other is HDB’s review. Its eventual findings could leave the Conversion Scheme intact, adjust its conditions or take another course, but no outcome has yet been announced.
Until either happens, the clearest way to describe the episode is simple: S$2.18 million was the initial ambition of one unusual listing; HDB’s review is the event that has actually occurred.
