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Singapore

HDB launches 5,500 BTO flats for sale, most will be ready in under 4 years

The Bedok South Blossoms and Serangoon North Vista BTO launches are likely to draw strong interest due to pent-up demand in those estates, according to a property analyst.

HDB launches 5,500 BTO flats for sale, most will be ready in under 4 years

An artist's impression of Serangoon North Vista. (Image: Housing Development Board)

SINGAPORE: A total of 5,495 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats were launched for sale on Tuesday (May 30), spread across five projects in the housing estates of Bedok, Kallang Whampoa, Serangoon and Tengah.

Nearly 90 per cent of the BTO flats, in four of the five projects on offer, have a waiting time of less than four years, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said in a press release.

This makes the May BTO sales exercise one of the BTO launches with the highest proportion of flats in recent years to be completed in less than four years, it said.

The median waiting time for the flats launched in May is about three years and five months, added HDB.

Those who are looking to move into their flats sooner can consider applying for the flats at Parc Meadow @ Tengah, which has a waiting time ranging from three years and one month to three years and four months.

The waiting times for the other four projects – Plantation Verge in Tengah, Bedok South Blossoms, Serangoon North Vista and Farrer Park Arena – range from three years and five months to four years.

HDB on Tuesday said another 1,500 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) units were also being offered for sale.

STRONG DEMAND IN BEDOK AND SERANGOON

A wide selection of flats, ranging from two-room flexi units to 3Gen flats, is offered to meet diverse housing needs, HDB said of the current sales exercise.

In particular, five-room flats will be offered in the mature towns of Bedok and Serangoon, making up more than 40 per cent of the total five-room flat supply in the May BTO launch.

“As it has been several years since the last BTO launch in the towns of Bedok and Serangoon, strong demand for the BTO flats at Bedok South Blossoms and Serangoon North Vista can be expected,” HDB said.

According to Huttons Asia's senior director for research Lee Sze Teck, the last BTO launch in Bedok South was in November 2006. With the last BTO launch in Bedok estate coming in 2016, demand is likely to be high.

"The near seven-year absence of a BTO project (in Bedok) may see higher number of applicants for Bedok South Blossoms," Mr Lee said.

"This BTO is very near to Tanah Merah MRT where a mixed-use project Sceneca Residence is being built. Buyers of this BTO can stroll over to Sceneca Square for their amenities or take a train down to Bedok Mall, which is one stop away."

Serangoon will likely draw similar interest, Mr Lee said.

"Back in Jan 2014, a studio apartment BTO (in Serangoon) was launched. But it is not a like-for-like comparison, hence the demand for new HDB flats at Serangoon North Vista could be large. Furthermore, this BTO project has five-room flats, which is seldom offered in mature estates ... (and) Serangoon North Vista is near to Serangoon Gardens and Chomp Chomp Food Centre," he added.

The new flats will be priced considerably lower than the transacted prices of comparable resale flats due to significant market discounts, HDB added.

Eligible first-timer families can benefit from the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) of up to S$80,000 (US$59,165).

With the EHG, flat buyers may pay as little as S$163,000 for a three-room flat and S$290,000 for a four-room flat in the non-mature estate of Tengah, and may service their mortgage through CPF, with little to no cash outlay, HDB said.

In the mature estates where prices are higher, the prices after grants start from S$260,000 and S$403,000 for a three-room and four-room flat respectively, in Bedok.

(Table: Housing and Development Board)

ONE PRIME LOCATION PROJECT

Farrer Park Arena, with a total of 569 units of three-room and four-room flats, is the sole project offered under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model in this sales exercise. 

Owners of these flats face a longer minimum occupation period of 10 years before they can put their homes on the open market. Because the flats came with extra subsidies, those who eventually sell their homes will have to return to HDB 6 per cent of the resale price or valuation - whichever is higher - upon selling their units. 

First-timer families will have 20 per cent of the PLH flats in Farrer Park Arena set aside for them. Two per cent of the PLH flats will be set aside for second-timer families under the Married Child Priority Scheme, with HDB adding that this is “two-thirds of the usual quotas”.

FLAT APPLICATION

Applicants who wish to improve their chances of securing a flat are encouraged to apply for a flat in the non-mature town of Tengah, where at least 95 per cent of the four-room and bigger flats are set aside for first-timer families, HDB said.

First-timer households who applied for a flat in non-mature estates have been invited to book their flat within three tries and 90 per cent of them were successful within two tries.

To further increase their chances, flat applicants can look out for projects with application rates of around 1.7 and lower, HDB said. With a BTO rejection rate of about 40 per cent, applicants of such projects stand a good chance of selecting a flat.

Information on application rates of each BTO project can be accessed on the HDB Flat Portal.

Flat applications can be made online via HDB Flat Portal from May 30 to Jun 5. Applicants can apply for only one flat type or category in one town under either the BTO or SBF exercise.

With the introduction of the new HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter earlier this month, applicants will need to first complete the Preliminary HFE check in the HDB Flat Portal before submitting a flat application.

The HFE letter will inform flat buyers upfront of their eligibility for a new or resale flat purchase, Central Provident Fund (CPF) housing grants and HDB housing loan.

FUTURE BTO PROJECTS

In August 2023, HDB will offer about 6,700 BTO flats in towns or estates such as Choa Chu Kang, Tengah, Kallang/Whampoa and Queenstown.

About 6,300 flats will be offered in towns or estates such as Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Woodlands, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah and Queenstown in November 2023.

“They will be subject to review as more project details will be firmed up closer to the launch date,” HDB said. “HDB will continue to monitor the housing demand closely. We remain on track to launch a total of 100,000 flats from 2021 to 2025.”

Source: CNA/cm(sn)

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