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Woodlands, Sin Ming BTO projects most popular in December launch

SINGAPORE — Projects in Woodlands and Bishan were the most popular among Build-to-Order (BTO) flat applicants in the December launch.

The public housing construction site beside Block 25 Sin Ming Road.

The public housing construction site beside Block 25 Sin Ming Road.

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SINGAPORE — Projects in Woodlands and Bishan were the most popular among Build-to-Order (BTO) flat applicants in the December launch.

The final update at 2pm on Tuesday (Dec 12) on the Housing Board’s (HDB) website showed a total of 13,411 applicants for 6,057 flats on offer – an overall application rate of 2.2.

HDB said in a statement on Monday evening – hours before the exercise closed – that the median application rate for first-timer applicants for three-room or bigger flats in December was about 0.8.

That is "significantly lower" than the median first-timer application rates for three-room and bigger flats during the pandemic years, which ranged from 2 to 6.8. 

The 6,057 flats launched in this month's BTO exercise were spread over eight projects in Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Queenstown and Woodlands. The projects in Bukit Merah and Queenstown are offered under the Prime Location Housing (PLH) model.

With the exception of the two projects in Woodlands, as well as the project in Bishan, the vast majority of the first-timer application rates for three-room and bigger flats in the other five BTO projects were below 1, HDB said.

Five-room flats proved popular and there were more than seven applicants vying for each 5-room flat at Urban Rise @ Woodlands.

Application rates for the two Woodlands projects were high as they are near transport nodes and other amenities, said analysts.

Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, said that Urban Rise @ Woodlands is located about 250m from Woodlands MRT Station, while Woodlands Beacon is about 450m from the same MRT station.
 
"Among the six non-PLH projects, these two projects at Woodlands are situated nearest to an existing MRT station on one of the older MRT lines," he said.

Due to their proximity to the regional town centre, these proved more popular than flats in Bedok and the PLH projects in Bukit Merah and Queenstown.

The PLH projects in December's launch came with a subsidy recovery rate of 8 per cent, taking into account the extent of the additional subsidies provided.

That means owners of these flats will have to return 8 per cent of the resale price or valuation – whichever is higher – when they sell their flats. This is higher than the 6 per cent in previous PLH projects.

Three-room flats in the PLH projects drew tepid interest, with fewer applicants than flats available. There was more interest in the four-room flats in the projects, with application rates of 1.44 for Bukit Merah and 1.35 for Queenstown. 

In contrast, the non-PLH project in Bishan drew a great deal of interest. The project has a short waiting time of less than three years. 

"This shows that buyers want a good central location but without the PLH restrictions. Furthermore, the clawback subsidy for these two PLH BTO launches was increased to 8 per cent, perhaps reducing the appeal of the flats," said Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons. 

PropNex CEO Ismail Gafoor said it looks like the demand for new public housing has largely stabilised.

"Moving forward, we would expect overall application rates of BTO launches to generally range between two and three times, although it could vary slightly at times, depending on the supply and location of flats launched," he said.

Mr Gafoor noted that projects in non-mature towns have a higher overall application rate than those in mature estates. By flat types, two-room flexi flats and five-room flats came out on top, higher than three-room and four-room flats.

"It is evident that larger BTO flats remain most popular among applicants, but given the strong demand, especially among second-timers, a good number of applicants would likely be left disappointed, and may eventually turn to the resale market for five-room flats," he said.

"HDB could perhaps explore ramping up the supply of five-room flats in non-mature estates to meet the stronger demand for such flats."

In total, HDB has launched 24,447 flats this year, comprising 22,780 BTO flats, 1,500 Sale of Balance flats and 167 flats under the open booking of flats.

The Housing Board said close to 70 per cent of flats launched in 2023 have wait times of four years or less.

"This represents a return to the pre-pandemic norm and a significant improvement from the peak of the pandemic," it said.

In February 2024, HDB will offer about 4,100 flats in Bedok, Queenstown, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Punggol and Woodlands.CNA 

For more reports like this, visit cna.asia.

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