SINGAPORE – The Housing Board launched nearly 7,000 flats for sale on Tuesday, of which 1,500 are Sale of Balance Flats located across various estates.

The 5,495 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats offered are spread across five housing projects, three of which are in the mature estates of Bedok, Kallang/Whampoa and Serangoon, while the other two are in the non-mature estate of Tengah.

About 90 per cent of the BTO flats have a waiting time of less than four years.

In four out of the five projects on offer, the waiting time is from three years and one month to three years and eight months, said HDB.

HDB said it expects strong demand for the flats in Bedok and Serangoon.

The last BTO launch in Bedok was in November 2016, while 150 studio apartments for the elderly were launched in Serangoon in January 2014.

A total of 1,640 flats are on offer at Bedok South Blossoms, which is located on a site near Tanah Merah MRT station that is bounded by Bedok South Road and Bedok South Avenue 3.

Prices for a five-room flat in Bedok South Blossoms range from $588,000 to $737,000, from $448,000 to $587,000 for a four-room flat, and from $320,000 to $396,000 for a three-room unit.

There are 330 flats on offer at Serangoon North Vista, which is located on a site bounded by Serangoon North Avenue 1 and Yio Chu Kang Road.

Prices range from $397,000 to $496,000 for a four-room flat, and from $558,000 to $658,000 for a five-room flat.  

The five-room flats on offer in the two estates make up more than 40 per cent of the total five-room BTO flat supply in May’s launch.

PropNex Realty chief executive Ismail Gafoor noted that there is strong demand for larger flats in mature towns among families and young couples, who have had to turn to the resale market for larger flats due to the limited supply in BTO exercises.

Rolling out more new five-room flats in mature towns may help to ease demand for larger resale flats somewhat, as those who do not need a home so soon may apply for BTO units instead, he said.

Having more five-room flats available for resale down the road may also help moderate prices, he added.

The third project in a mature estate is Farrer Park Arena, which has a total of 569 units of three-room and four-room flats priced between $362,000 and $642,000.

The project – located on a site bounded by Farrer Park Road and Dorset Road – falls under the prime location public housing (PLH) model.

Such flats come with stricter buying and selling conditions, including a 6 per cent subsidy clawback when resold and a 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP).

Standard BTO flats come with a five-year MOP and do not have a subsidy clawback clause.

The two projects in Tengah – Parc Meadow@Tengah and Plantation Verge – have close to 3,000 flats.

HDB said first-time flat buyers may pay as little as $163,000 for a three-room flat in Tengah and $290,000 for a four-room flat, after including the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $80,000.

In Bedok, where prices are higher, prices after grants start from $260,000 for a three-room flat and $403,000 for a four-room flat, it added.

HDB said those who are looking to move into their flats sooner can consider applying for the flats at Parc Meadow, which has a waiting time ranging from three years one month to three years four months.

The waiting times for the other four projects range from three years and five months to four years.

In a Facebook post, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said: “We are committed to providing options for different budgets and needs – from homes in Tengah designed to integrate lush greenery, to units in the mature estates of Bedok and Serangoon for families who wish to live closer for mutual care and support, there is something for everyone.” Mr Lee added that the HDB is on track to launch 100,000 flats between 2021 and 2025, and will roll out more flats with waiting times of under three years from 2024.

Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of property portal Mogul.sg, said further shortening the waiting time for upcoming BTO flats could draw more buyers from the HDB resale market to apply for BTO flats.

“The lower demand in the HDB resale market could slow down the price growth of HDB resale flats further,” he said.

Some people faced long waiting times to enter HDB’s May sales launch webpage on Monday.

An applicant who wanted to be known only as CK said he wanted to see the units available under Sale of Balance Flats and waited nearly two hours to enter the website.

“Previously, I didn’t need to queue to apply for units and I didn’t face any issues with the website,” he said, adding that it was his third time applying for a flat.

HDB had rolled out the virtual waiting room feature in the November 2022 sales exercise to better manage online traffic in instances where there are many applicants accessing the system at once.

Applications close at 11.59pm on June 5 on the HDB flat portal. Flats will be allocated through balloting.

In August, HDB will offer about 6,700 BTO flats in towns such as Choa Chu Kang, Tengah, Kallang/Whampoa and Queenstown.

At the final launch of the year in November, HDB will offer about 6,300 flats in towns such as Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Woodlands, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah and Queenstown. 

• Additional reporting by Isabelle Liew