The Housing Board launched 4,571 new Build-To-Order (BTO) flats for sale in the year's last and biggest BTO sales exercise yesterday.
Also up for sale are 3,599 flats under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) in 14 mature towns such as Bishan and Clementi, and 11 non-mature towns such as Bukit Panjang and Punggol. This brings the total number of flats for sale to 8,170, which also makes it the biggest HDB flat launch this year.
Most of the BTO flats that are for sale in the latest exercise are in the upcoming "forest town" of Tengah, spread across three housing projects, while the rest are in the mature estates of Ang Mo Kio and Tampines.
Applications for the flats close next Monday.
The three Tengah projects - Plantation Village, Plantation Grange and Garden Vines @ Tengah - range from two-room Flexi to five-room flats. There are also larger three-generation flats in Plantation Grange, allowing multi-generation families to live under one roof.
Plantation Grange and Plantation Village are located next to an upcoming MRT station on the Jurong Region Line, which is slated to open in 2027.
Both will be completed in two to three years, instead of the usual three to four years.
At least 95 per cent of the four-room and bigger flats will be set aside for first-timer families, an increase from the current quota of at least 85 per cent in non-mature estates.
In Tengah, prices start from $110,000, excluding grants, for a two-room Flexi flat, and from $442,000 for a three-generation flat. This is the third batch of Tengah flats to be launched.
Home owners can subscribe to a centralised cooling system, the first of its kind to be offered for public housing in Singapore.
In Ang Mo Kio, the some 450 units on offer range from two-room Flexi to four-room flats and prices start from $170,000 for a two-room Flexi unit.
The project, called Yio Chu Kang Beacon, is a short walk from Yio Chu Kang MRT station and the upcoming Lentor MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, which is expected to open next year.
The some 650 units in Tampines, in the Tampines GreenSpring project, range from two-room Flexi to five-room flats and prices start from $145,000 for a two-room Flexi unit.
HDB has been consistently offering new flats in Tampines, with a 649-unit project launched in September and more than 3,600 units put up for sale there last year.
Ms Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, said one reason for the increased supply of flats in Tampines may be to support the Changi masterplan, which will see the creation of Changi Aviation Park and other business parks.
She added that all five projects in this sales exercise are well located near MRT stations, which is a big draw for home buyers.
This is the second sales exercise after Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong announced higher grants and higher income ceilings for first-time flat buyers.
Eligible buyers can tap the new Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $80,000, which has no restrictions on the choice of flat type and location.
HDB has launched a total of 22,751 flats, including in SBF and Re-Offer of Balance Flats exercises, this year. Next February, there will be about 3,000 flats up for sale in Sembawang and Toa Payoh. Another 3,700 BTO flats in Choa Chu Kang, Pasir Ris, Tengah and Tampines will be released next May.
