First batch of 3Gen flats sees "strong reception": National Development Minister

The first batch of three-generation (3Gen) flats has seen a strong reception with 94 per cent of the flats booked, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a blog post on Feb 14, 2014. - ST FILE PHOTO: JOYCE FANG 
The first batch of three-generation (3Gen) flats has seen a strong reception with 94 per cent of the flats booked, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a blog post on Feb 14, 2014. - ST FILE PHOTO: JOYCE FANG 

The first batch of three-generation (3Gen) flats has seen a "strong reception" with 94 per cent of the flats booked, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a blog post on Friday.

These larger flats - each of which at 115 sq m in size is about 5 sq m bigger than a typical five-roomer - were launched in Yishun last September. Applicants took up 79 out of the 84 flats available for booking. Each 3Gen flat typically has four bedrooms, a living area, a dining area, a kitchen, three bathrooms, and a store room cum apartment shelter.

Those who stay in the flats need to comprise at least a married couple and one parent, a courting couple and one parent, a widowed person and a child and one parent, or a divorced person and a child and one parent.

Of the 79 families who booked the 3Gen flats, 56 were first-time HDB flat buyers and 23 were second-timers. Selection for the remaining five units will end in March.

The average household size of these families was higher at 5.1 persons, compared to 4.0 for five-roomers and 3.6 for four-roomers, Mr Khaw said.

Subsequent 3Gen flats launched in Jurong West in November last year and in Punggol last month have also received strong response - the Housing Board received nearly 300 applications from multi-generation families who qualify for the 164 flats in these two projects.

In Mr Khaw's post, he highlighted that it was Chap Goh Mei, the 15th day of the Chinese New Year - where it is customary for Chinese families to gather for another reunion.

"We will continue to help extended families who want to live together, or close to one another, fulfil their dream," he said. " This will be a key priority area for me and for my ministry over the next few years."

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