SINGAPORE - All Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in the mature estates of Kallang/Whampoa and Toa Payoh (Bidadari) have been oversubscribed just one day into their one-week launch for sale.
Seniors wanting to live in Singapore's first assisted living public housing in Bukit Batok will also face stiff competition as there is nearly twice as many applicants as available units.
As of 5pm on Friday (Feb 5), there were 319 applicants vying for the 169 units in the pilot batch of Community Care Apartments in the Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok BTO project.
Only those aged 65 and above can apply for these 32 sq m flats, which will come with senior-friendly fittings such as grab bars and a wheelchair-accessible bathroom.
Residents will also have to subscribe to and pay for a mandatory service package which includes 24-hour emergency monitoring and response service, basic health checks, simple home fixes and activities at the communal spaces within the development.
On Thursday, a total of 3,740 BTO flats across seven housing projects were launched for sale by the HDB in the first sales exercise of the year.
The five-room flats in ParkEdge @ Bidadari and Alkaff Breeze housing projects were the most in demand, with more than three applicants for each of the 323 units.
Prices for these flats start from $611,000, excluding grants, making them the most expensive units in this launch.
The four-room flats in all three of Bidadari's projects - Bartley GreenRise, ParkEdge @ Bidadari and Alkaff Breeze - drew slightly more than one applicant for each of the 797 units.
Likewise, there were 141 applicants for each of the 96 three-room flats in Bartley GreenRise - clearly more than one applicant per unit.
In towns where two or more BTO projects are on offer, applicants can apply for their preferred flat type only. At that point, they cannot indicate their project of choice.
They will only be able to book a flat in one of the projects based on their balloted queue position, subject to availability.
The next most popular project in this launch is McNair Heights in Kallang/Whampoa, with more than two applicants for each of the 386 four-room flats, the biggest available flat type in the project.
Its three-room flats saw less demand - though they were still oversubscribed - and attracted 127 applicants for its 104 available units.
Prices start from $359,000 for a three-room flat and $532,000 for a four-room flat in McNair Heights. Flat owners will have to wait till the second quarter of 2026 to get their keys.
Home owners who wished to live in the non-mature estates of Bukit Batok and Tengah may have better luck, as application rates were relatively low as of Friday evening.
Only the 387 four-room flats in Parc Woods @ Tengah and the 81 three-room flats in West Hill @ Bukit Batok were slightly oversubscribed.
The 331 five-room flats in West Hill @ Bukit Batok drew only 222 applicants, while the 387 four-room flats in the same project drew only 245 applicants - though demand may pick up over the weekend.
Prices start from $175,000 for a three-room flat and $384,000 for a five-room flat in Bukit Batok, making these flats the most affordable in this launch.
Applications for the flats will close next Wednesday (Feb 10) on the HDB flat portal. The flats will be allocated through balloting.
In May, the HDB will launch some 3,800 flats in Bukit Merah, Geylang, Tengah and Woodlands. Another 4,900 flats will be offered in Queenstown, Kallang/Whampoa, Tampines, Jurong East and Hougang in August.
