Artist’s impression of the Anchorvale Plains BTO project in Sengkang. Source: HDB
UPDATED: In the first Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise of 2016, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched 4,170 new flats for sale on Wednesday (24 Feb).
Spread across three projects located in the non-mature estates of Bukit Batok and Sengkang, and the mature estate of Bidadari, they make up the first batch of 18,000 flats that will be launched this year, the HDB said in a statement.
According to Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex Realty, this is “about 20 percent more than the 15,100 units which were launched last year”.
A range of 2-room Flexi to five-room and 3Gen flats are being offered, with prices ranging from $85,000 for a 2-room Flexi flat at West Plains @ Bukit Batok to $553,000 for a 3Gen flat at Alkaff Oasis in Bidadari (Toa Payoh), excluding grants.
The 2-room Flexi flats were first launched in the September 2015 BTO exercise. This scheme replaced the previous 2-room and studio apartment schemes, and allows elderly buyers to opt for shorter leases.
Meanwhile, eligible first-time buyers of new flats enjoy up to $80,000 in housing grants, comprising up to $40,000 in Special CPF Housing Grants and up to $40,000 in Additional CPF Housing Grants. With these grants, buyers of 2-room Flexi flats pay as little as $4,000, said the HDB.
It added that applicants are advised to apply for a BTO flat in non-mature estates to increase their chances of securing a unit.
“We foresee flats in Bidadari to be more popular; the higher prices might not deter buyers due to its central location – especially the larger four- and five-room flats. Such larger flats are likely to see application rates of about five times. But the overall application rate for the Bidadari BTO project will be about four times. As for Sengkang and Bukit Batok, we predict the application rate to be about two to three times,” noted Ismail.
Applications can be submitted online on the HDB InfoWEB from today to 1 March 2016.
The next BTO exercise will take place in May, with around 4,070 new flats in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang and Sembawang being offered for sale. In addition, 5,000 balance flats will be released in a concurrent Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise.
Table: Comparison of the Feb 2016 BTO prices and transacted prices of nearby resale flats
Source: HDB
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
