SINGAPORE — The demand for resale flats among singles remained strong in the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) latest Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise, although overall application rates tapered from 4.1 to 2.8.

As at 5pm yesterday — seven hours before applications closed — each unit open to single buyers saw an average of 18.7 bids. This was the lowest application rate for singles since the Government, in July last year, started setting aside at least 30 per cent of two-room BTO flats for unmarried buyers aged above 35 — application rates have ranged from 27 to 58.

Fern Grove @ Yishun was the hottest among single buyers, with about 32 vying for each unit, while those at EastLace @ Canberra and EastCrown @ Canberra got an average of 10 applications per flat.

For married buyers, demand varied widely across the estates offered in this BTO exercise.

In Sembawang, the average application rate for three-, four- and five-room flats was below 1.

Sengkang, on the other hand, was highly sought after, among both first- and second-timers. For instance, Anchorvale Parkview’s four- and five-room flats — of which 70 are for multi-generation families — got more than three and four first-time applicants, respectively, and between 11 and 15 second-timer bids.

Overall, second-timer application rates stood at 3.1, compared with between 2.7 and 14.9 last year. Among first-timers, the application rate was about 1.3 for this round, comparable with the 1.3 to 2.4 seen last year.

On the application rates of singles, PropNex Realty Chief Executive Mohamed Ismail estimated that it would take one to two years to clear the “pent-up” demand. SLP International Property Consultants’ Executive Director of Research and Consultancy Nicholas Mak also suggested that the Government could raise the supply of units for singles.

While overall demand is cooling, property analysts said the Government’s attention could now turn to meeting demand from second-timers.

Chief Executive Officer of Century 21 Ku Swee Yong suggested allocating up to 50 per cent of four- to five-room flats, up from 15 per cent, for this group. He pointed out that such buyers may have valid reasons to upgrade to a bigger flat, such as relocating nearer to the homes of their parents or schools for their children.

This BTO exercise is the second since the Government announced last December that it would slow down the supply of new public flats this year.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan had said supply and demand for public housing were returning to balance, citing the decreasing cash-over-valuations in the resale market, as well as the falling average application rates for BTO flats (from a high of 5.3 in 2010 to as low as 2.9 last year). Xue Jianyue