Press Release
31 May 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Singapore, 31 May 2023 – The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has launched the May 2023 Build-to-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) sales exercise yesterday.
5,495 flats from 5 sites over 4 towns (Bedok, Kallang/Whampoa, Serangoon, and Tengah) are available for application under the BTO exercise. Only the site at Kallang/Whampoa will fall under the Prime Location Public Housing Model (PLH). 1,500 flats have been made available for application under the SBF exercise.
Overview
First-timers now
have many housing options as they can choose BTO flats in various mature
estates, sale of balance flats that come with shorter completion times or
resale flats with the additional CPF housing grants.
This batch of BTO
flats is attractive as many are launched from mature estates like
Kallang/Whampoa, Serangoon and Bedok, and the median
waiting time for the flats is quite short at 3 years 5 months. However,
since 1,500 flats are launched concurrently through the SBF exercise, some
demand may be diverted from the BTO exercise. This is because some buyers may
prefer the sale of balance flats since the construction period is shorter since
these are balance flats from previous launches.
Given that more
CPF housing grants are given to first-timers buying resale flats, some demand
may also be diverted to the resale market. The
increased grants will help bridge the price gap between BTO and resale flats,
and buyers can obtain a housing unit almost immediately.
Project Analysis
Kallang/
Whampoa
We expect strong demand
for the PLH site at Kallang/Whampoa as the site is within proximity to two MRT
stations (Little India and Farrer Park). The adjacent plot launched in February
2023 had an application rate of 3.4 for 4-room flats
and 1.6 for 3-room flats from first-timer families. Similar to the
adjacent plot, this site will attract sports enthusiasts as there will be a
variety of sports and recreational facilities to be built in the vicinity.
Serangoon
The Serangoon site
will be popular among families given its proximity to Roysth School which is a
top primary school. There are also big flats such as 5-room units being offered
at this site. There will be pent-up demand as the last BTO launch, Golden
Ginger, was in January 2014. There are no new flats available in the area as
all resale transactions that took place in 2022 and this year was for flats
that were above 20 years old. Moreover, eligible buyers will opt to buy BTO
flats as completed condos in the vicinity are quite costly. For instance, transactions in 2022 and this year for condos in the
vicinity ranging from 800 to less than 1,200 sqft transacted at a median price
of S$1.75 million at Affinity at Serangoon, S$1.55
million at Bartley Residences, and S$1.7 million at Botanique at Bartley.
Bedok
Applicants may
have a higher chance of securing a unit since 1,640 units are available. All
flat types are also offered, including 2-room flexi, 3-room, 4-room, 5-room,
and 3-Gen flats. There are ample amenities such as sports and recreational
facilities, a market, a hawker centre and a number of schools. The site is also
conveniently located between Tanah Merah MRT Station (East-West Line) and the
upcoming Bedok South MRT Station (Thomson-East Coast Line).
Tengah
The application
rate may be lower than the other sites since 2,956 flats will be offered from
these two Tengah sites. These two sites have fewer amenities and many flats have
already been launched in Tengah. Comparing
both Tengah sites, more applicants may be eyeing a unit
at Parc Meadow @ Tengah since it is next to the future Anglo-Chinese
School (Primary) and next to the future Town Centre. It is also close to Tengah
MRT Station on the Jurong Region Line.