Which HDB Towns Appreciated Most Since 2017 — and Why the Leaderboard Surprises People

How this is measured

Every HDB resale transaction from January 2017 to August 2026 (239,330 of them) grouped by town. The metric is the median resale price per square metre, which controls for the fact that towns have different mixes of flat sizes.

The islandwide figure — a 51% rise in median price per square metre — lines up almost exactly with HDB's own Resale Price Index, which rose 52% over the same window. That agreement is the check that the town-level numbers below are measuring something real.

Change in median resale price per sqm by town, 2017 → 2026

Percentage change in median resale $/sqm, by town.

Median price per sqm, calendar 2017 vs Jan–Aug 2026. Source: Resale Flat Prices, HDB.

Biggest and smallest movers, median $/sqm

Sorted by percentage gain — darkest bar on top. Grey is the 2017 price; the coloured part is what was added by 2026.

Median resale price per sqm. Source: Resale Flat Prices, HDB.

Most expensive towns by median $/sqm, 2026

A different ranking. High price level is not the same as high appreciation.

Median resale price per sqm, Jan–Aug 2026. Source: Resale Flat Prices, HDB.

What the numbers suggest

• In percentage terms, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive towns narrowed — entry-level towns carried the largest moves.
• "Prime" did not mean "best appreciation". Central Area and Marine Parade were near the bottom of the percentage table.
• The town-level result matches the official Resale Price Index islandwide, which is the reason to trust it.
• In absolute dollars the gaps stayed wide: Queenstown's median $/sqm is still nearly double Jurong West's.