SINGAPORE - The Housing Board on Dec 5 launched 6,057 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats for sale across eight projects in Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Queenstown and Woodlands.
It also announced that it would increase the subsidies for two projects, in Bukit Merah and Queenstown, that are under the prime location public housing (PLH) model. These extra subsidies are in response to rising prices in the resale market, HDB said, without spelling out the extent of the subsidies.
For fairness, owners of these flats will be subject to a higher subsidy clawback upon the resale of their flats, set at 8 per cent of the resale price or valuation, whichever is higher. This is up from 6 per cent for past PLH projects.
An HDB spokesperson told The Straits Times the subsidy recovery rate will broadly correspond to the additional subsidies granted for the flats. The subsidies and recovery rate will vary across projects, depending on the valuation.
There is a 10-year minimum occupation period for these flats.
The PLH projects are Alexandra Peaks in Bukit Merah, on the site of the former Alexandra Post Office, and Ulu Pandan Vista in Queenstown, the third and final project in the eastern half of Dover Forest.
HDB added that 20 per cent of the PLH flats will be set aside for first-timer families, while 2 per cent will be for second-timer families under the married child priority scheme, which allows a married child and his or her parents to live with or close to one another for mutual support.
Mr Ismail Gafoor, chief executive of real estate firm PropNex, said the extra subsidies would keep public housing equitable, but some applicants may be put off by the higher subsidy clawback rate.
Four projects at this launch, or about half the flats on offer, will have a wait of four years or less, HDB said.
Sin Ming Residences in Bishan, with 732 three- and four-room flats, will have a wait of about two years and eight months. These are the first new units launched in the area since 1988.
Prices, excluding grants, range from $374,000 to $473,000 for a three-room flat, and $519,000 to $665,000 for a four-room unit.
HDB said it has taken various steps to reduce the wait for a BTO flat, such as by prioritising sites where construction can begin earlier and breaking larger developments into smaller projects. As a result, nearly seven in 10 flats launched in 2023 will have waits of four years or less, it said.
The Alexandra Peaks PLH project has 904 two-room flexi, three- and four-room flats, on a site bounded by Alexandra Road and Alexandra Canal. It is fairly close to Redhill MRT station.
Prices, excluding grants, range from $380,000 to $512,000 for a three-room unit, and $533,000 to $723,000 for a four-room flat.
In comparison, three-room resale flats in Bukit Merah transacted at between $690,000 and $763,888, and four-room units at $920,000 to $1.09 million, said HDB.
The other PLH project, Ulu Pandan Vista, will have 890 three- and four-room flats, and is next to Dover MRT station.
Three-room units are priced (without grants) from $430,000 to $541,000, and four-room flats from $598,000 to $763,000, making these flats the priciest at this launch.
Three-room resale flats in the vicinity cost $655,000 to $715,000, and four-room units transacted at $850,000 to $1.04 million, HDB said.
Buyers will have to wait the longest for the PLH flats. Both projects will take about four years and 11 months to be completed.
Elsewhere, the Chai Chee Green BTO project in Bedok comprises 1,234 units of three-, four- and five-room flats, and community care apartments. It is bounded by Chai Chee Lane and Bedok North Road, and is fairly near Bedok North MRT station.
The 250 community care apartments, priced between $80,000 and $95,000, will each come with senior-friendly fittings, such as wheelchair-accessible bathrooms with slip-resistant flooring and grab bars.
Three-room units in this project are going for $298,000 to $360,000, four-room flats for $421,000 to $534,000, and five-room units for $569,000 to $725,000 (all prices exclude grants). The wait for a flat will range from three years and three months to three years and seven months.
Meanwhile, two projects in Woodlands will offer a combined 1,247 units near Woodlands MRT station.
Woodlands Beacon, bounded by Woodlands Street 13 and Woodlands Avenue 5, has 399 three- and four-room flats. Prices, excluding grants, for a three-room flat range from $268,000 to $340,000, and $318,000 to $446,000 for a four-room unit.
Urban Rise@Woodlands in Woodlands Avenue 5, comprising 848 two-room flexi, three-, four and five-room flats, is closer to the MRT stop.
Prices range from $145,000 to $231,000 for a two-room flexi flat, $251,000 to $345,000 for a three-room unit, $337,000 to $468,000 for a four-room flat, and $468,000 to $612,000 for a five-room flat.
The wait for both projects is a little more than four years.
In Jurong West, the Jurong Arcadia project by the Jurong River and in Jurong West Street 42 offers 716 two-room flexi, three-, four- and five-room flats. The wait for a flat is three years and one month.
Petir Park Edge in Bukit Panjang, the smallest in this exercise, will have 334 two-room flexi and four-room flats. It will be bounded by Petir Road and Cashew Road. The wait for a flat is about four years.
HDB said it expects high application rates for the Bedok, Bishan and Bukit Panjang projects.
Applications close at 11.59pm on Dec 11 on the HDB flat portal. Flats will be allocated through balloting.
Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president for research and analytics at real estate firm OrangeTee & Tie, said she expects healthy demand for Sin Ming Residences, owing to the lack of BTO flats in the area.
The Woodlands developments could also see high application rates as future units with similar attributes – being near an MRT station – could be classified under the Plus flat category, which entails stricter resale restrictions, she said.
December’s exercise takes the number of BTO flats launched in 2023 to 22,780 – shy of HDB’s target of up to 23,000.
In February, HDB will offer about 4,100 flats in Bedok, Queenstown, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Punggol and Woodlands.
