HDB launches 6,938 BTO flats, raises subsidies for three projects in prime areas
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SINGAPORE – The Housing Board launched 6,938 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats on June 19 for sale across eight projects in Jurong East, Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Tampines, Woodlands and Yishun.
HDB also announced it would increase the subsidies for three of the projects that are under the prime location public housing (PLH) model. This is to keep the flats affordable for a wider range of Singaporeans, the agency said, without specifying the extent of the increase.
The projects are Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II in the mature town of Kallang/Whampoa, as well as Holland Vista in Queenstown.
For fairness, owners of these flats will be subject to a higher subsidy clawback upon the resale of their flats. The clawback, set at 9 per cent of the resale price or valuation, whichever is higher, is to correspond to the extent of the extra subsidies offered, said HDB.
The clawback was 6 per cent when the PLH scheme was introduced in 2021,
“With these additional subsidies and the substantial market discounts already applied across all BTO flats, the selling prices of these PLH projects will be significantly lower than the transacted prices of comparable resale flats nearby,” HDB said.
There is a 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP) for these flats.
HDB added that 20 per cent of the PLH flats will be set aside for families that are applying for flats for the first time, while 2 per cent will be for families that are second-time applicants under the married child priority scheme. The scheme allows a married child and his or her parents to live with or close to one another for mutual support.
Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property search portal Mogul.sg, attributed the increased subsidy recovery rate for PLH projects to the rising prices of HDB resale flats, especially those in prime areas that at present do not have significant resale restrictions.
The projects are Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II (pictured) in the mature town of Kallang/Whampoa.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Starting from the latest BTO sales exercise, young couples eligible for a deferred income assessment scheme can fork out a lower upfront down payment of 2.5 per cent of the flat price. The remaining down payment can be paid when they collect the keys to their flat, HDB said.
The upfront down payment was 5 per cent for buyers taking HDB loans or those without a housing loan, and 10 per cent for buyers opting for bank loans.
The authorities had said that forking out the down payment on a flat can be hard for some young couples, such as students and national servicemen, who have yet to build up their income.
Half of the flats on offer at the June 19 launch will have waiting times of four years or less
Marsiling Peak I in Woodlands has a waiting time of two years and 11 months.
PHOTO: HDB
The Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II PLH projects in Kampong Arang Road will offer a combined 2,063 two-room flexi, three- and four-room flats on a site by the Geylang River.
Prices, excluding grants, range from $402,000 to $544,000 for a three-room unit, and $568,000 to $779,000 for a four-room flat, making these flats the priciest at this launch. In comparison, three-room resale flats in Kallang/Whampoa transacted at between $730,000 and $828,000, and four-room flats at between $868,000 and $1.08 million, said HDB.
The 11 blocks in Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II will range from eight to 29 storeys tall, and are near the Stadium and Mountbatten MRT stations. Property analysts said these projects are expected to be popular as the flats could have views of the Singapore Sports Hub and Marina Reservoir.
The wait for a flat will range between four years and four years and seven months.
The other PLH project, Holland Vista, will have 342 two-room flexi and four-room flats on a site in Holland Drive near Holland Village and Buona Vista MRT stations.
Two-room flexi units are priced (without grants) from $209,000 to $367,000, and four-room flats from $582,000 to $762,000.
Four-room resale flats nearby cost $888,000 to $1.15 million, HDB said.
The 40-storey project has the longest waiting time in this launch, at four years and nine months.
The Chencharu Hills project in Yishun
The Chencharu Hills project in Yishun is the first BTO launch in the up-and-coming housing area.
PHOTO: HDB
Two-room flexi units in this project are going for $113,000 to $170,000, three-room flats for $219,000 to $271,000, four-room flats for $279,000 to $346,000, and five-room units for $407,000 to $496,000. All prices exclude any grants given. The wait for a flat will be about three years and eight months.
Tampines GreenTopaz, which is near Tampines West MRT station, will have 561 two-room flexi, four- and five-room flats across four blocks. One of the blocks will have 24 units of two-room rental flats.
Prices range from $152,000 to $238,000 for a two-room flexi flat, $445,000 to $569,000 for a four-room flat, and $589,000 to $719,000 for a five-room flat.
Meanwhile, Marsiling Peak I and II in Admiralty Road and Marsiling Lane in Woodlands will offer a combined 1,609 two-room flexi, three-, four- and five-room flats as well as three-generation units.
Marsiling Peak II will have a wait of four years and six months.
In Jurong East, the Teban Breeze project in Teban Gardens Road and Jurong Town Hall Road will offer 1,086 two-room flexi, three-, four- and five-room flats. The wait for a flat is four years and six months.
Flat applications close at 11.59pm on June 26 on the HDB Flat Portal. The new homes will be allocated through balloting.
Property analysts said the PLH projects in Tanjong Rhu and Holland Village could see the highest demand due to their attractive locations and proximity to MRT stations.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at real estate agency Huttons Asia, said the Tanjong Rhu projects are the first new HDB units to be built in the area in 60 years. “At 29 storeys, this will be one of the highest residential developments in Tanjong Rhu. Residents on the high floor will have unblocked views of the city or sea,” he added.
Mr Ismail Gafoor, chief executive of real estate firm PropNex Realty, expects more than three applicants for each unit in Holland Vista as the project is small.
“There may be pent-up demand for new flats here, in view of a dearth of BTO launches in the Holland Drive area – with several HDB blocks built in the 1970s, and some in the 1990s as well as in 2012,” he said.
The June exercise takes the number of BTO flats launched in 2024 to 11,064. In all, about 19,600 BTO flats will be launched across three sales exercises in 2024.
In the final launch of the year in October, HDB will offer about 8,500 flats in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Geylang, Jurong West, Kallang/Whampoa, Pasir Ris, Sengkang and Woodlands.
Among them are 260 community care apartments in Geylang – the fourth such project – that come with senior-friendly fittings such as wheelchair-accessible bathrooms with slip-resistant flooring and grab bars.
A new type of layout – “ white flats” that come without partitions and beams
When buyers are invited to book a flat, they can opt for a white flat layout, which allows for an open-concept living and bedroom space. Those who do not opt for this layout will receive a flat with the standard layout with walls.
HDB said: “The non-provision of internal partition walls will be factored into the pricing of the white flats, which is being finalised.”
The new classification of flats into Prime, Plus or Standard categories
BTO units in choicer locations will fall under the Prime and Plus categories. These will come with stricter resale conditions, such as a 10-year MOP and a subsidy clawback.
Standard flats, which will form the bulk of public housing supply, will come with a five-year MOP and have no significant restrictions on the pool of resale buyers.
