Two Prime projects in Bishan, Bukit Merah among 6,952 flats launched in June BTO exercise
Eligible families with three or more children will also be allocated a higher quota starting from the June BTO exercise.
An artist's impression of the Berlayar Rise BTO housing project in Bukit Merah. (Image: Housing and Development Board)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Wednesday (Jun 17) launched 6,952 flats in the June 2026 Build-to-Order (BTO) sales exercise, with two Prime projects in Bishan and Bukit Merah.
One of them, Lakeview Cascadia in Bishan, is the first of two planned BTO projects in the area and will offer 1,221 units. It will also mark the first time in more than 40 years that new public housing flats are being built in Lakeview, which is near MacRitchie Reservoir.
They are among seven projects on offer, including three Standard projects in Sembawang and Woodlands, as well as two Plus projects in Ang Mo Kio.
The Prime projects - Lakeview Cascadia and Berlayar Rise in Bukit Merah - will have a subsidy clawback of 10 and 14 per cent respectively.
The Plus projects - Kebun Baru Ridge and Kebun Baru Breeze - both come with a subsidy clawback of 8 per cent.
To provide greater support for larger families, HDB has also enhanced the Third Child Priority Scheme (TCPS) and this will start from the June BTO exercise.
The TCPS allocation quota will be increased from up to 5 per cent to up to 10 per cent for the flats offered in BTO and Sale of Balance (SBF) sales exercises. It will also be expanded to include families expecting their third child.
The scheme, first announced during the Committee of Supply debate earlier this year, applies to both first- and second-timer families, said Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat in a Facebook post.
There will be a variety of flat types ranging from two-room Flexi to 3Gen flats available to meet the diverse housing needs and budgets of Singaporeans, said HDB.
It added that those looking to get their own homes faster may consider opting for shorter waiting time projects. There are 2,035 such flats at Sembawang Portico and Sembawang Brook with wait times of less than three years, as well as 485 flats at Kebun Baru Ridge with a wait time of three years and one month.
To meet the housing needs of first-timer singles and seniors, about 2,300 of the flats on offer - or close to one in three units, are two-room Flexi flats.
These flats are available across six of the seven projects, and also form part of the 20,000 2-room Flexi flats to be launched from 2026 to 2028.
Eligible first-timer families will also receive grants of up to S$120,000 (US$93,628) to keep public housing affordable, said Mr Chee.
Applications for the June BTO exercise are open until Jun 24, and can be made online via the HDB flat portal.
Those who want to participate in the current exercise must have a valid HDB Flat Eligibility letter when they submit their application.
OCTOBER BTO EXERCISE
For the next BTO exercise in October, HDB said it will launch about 7,960 flats in Bedok, Geylang, Sembawang, Tengah, Toa Payoh and Yishun.
The new developments in Bedok, which are both located adjacent to Bayshore MRT station, will offer a combined 2,500 flats.
ERA Singapore key executive officer Eugene Lim predicted "competitive applications" for the projects in Bedok.
He noted that two current BTO projects and a private condominium are already under construction in the precinct, and that there is a mixed-use government land sales site currently open for tender.
The projects "should feature at least around the previous 2.1x application rate benchmark observed in the Oct 2024 exercise", he said.
HDB added that community care apartments, which are an assisted living public housing concept that integrates senior-friendly housing design with on-site care and services, will also be offered in Toa Payoh.
"We will continue to monitor the housing demand closely and are prepared to offer more than 55,000 flats from 2025 to 2027, if necessary." said HDB.
STRONG DEMAND EXPECTED
A subsidy clawback is an amount that homeowners of Plus and Prime flats must pay back to HDB when they sell their flats.
These flats come with higher subsidies to keep them affordable. They also come with tighter sale conditions, such as a 10-year minimum occupation period.
However, analysts say demand for the Prime projects in June's exercise is likely to be high.
Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist of Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group, noted that Bishan has traditionally been a popular housing estate among young couples, and that the significant number of two-room flats offered will also attract singles working in the area or in the upcoming sub-regional centre.
Application levels for Berlayar Rise in Bukit Merah are also expected to be high as "the scarcity of land in this area is a known fact among buyers, especially for seafronting units", said Ms Sun.
The subsidy recovery percentages, or clawback rates, of the two Prime BTO projects in June's exercise are comparable to the rates for Bishan Terraces and Berlayar Residences in October last year, Mr Lim noted.
"Buyers might therefore feel more confident, given the familiar clawback structure."
Mr Lim said that Lakeview Cascadia could emerge as the "standout BTO project" due to the popularity of the area and the scarcity of new flat supply in the Upper Thomson subzone.
The 10 per cent clawback rate is also "unlikely to deter eager applicants", he said, noting that the Bishan Terraces BTO project had the same clawback rate but still saw strong first-timer demand for its two-room Flexi and four-room flats.
"This shows that buyers may be willing to accept resale restrictions where the location and price proposition remain compelling."
Similarly, the 14 per cent clawback rate for the Bukit Merah project is unlikely to deter demand as it is expected to "draw strong interest from buyers seeking an early foothold in Berlayar", said Mr Lim.
The rate "could raise eventual resale costs, but is unlikely to be a major deterrent given the project’s location and longer-term growth potential within the Greater Southern Waterfront", he added.
At 1,976 units, Berlayar Rise is the largest BTO project in the current sales exercise and this should "help drive interest from singles and families looking to live in a city-fringe location", Mr Lim also noted.
Demand for the BTO flats in June's exercise is likely to remain robust as the market is "typically less impacted by broader macroeconomic volatility, barring any major crisis that might lead to massive job losses", said Ms Sun.
"The ongoing launch of new flats, especially in prime locations or near MRT stations, will continue to intensify competition among buyers in the resale market, which may help to stabilise resale price growth."
