Tampines, Bukit Merah BTO projects most popular among first-timers in February launch

SINGAPORE – Four-room flats in Tampines and Bukit Merah are the most popular among first-time home buyers in HDB’s latest Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise, which opened for applications on Feb 4.

As at 5pm on Feb 11, nearly seven first-time applicants were vying for each of the 337 four-room flats in the Tampines Bliss and Tampines Nova projects. Applications close at 11.59pm on Feb 11 on the HDB Flat Portal.

Tampines Bliss is a Standard project in Tampines Avenue 2 and Tampines Street 22. The flats here have the shortest wait in this launch at one year and 11 months.

Tampines Nova, which is located in the heart of Tampines Central, a five-minute walk from Tampines MRT station, falls under the Plus category. The project comes with a 6 per cent subsidy clawback upon resale.

Plus and Prime flats, which are closer to the city centre, transport nodes and amenities, come with stricter resale conditions. Both come with a 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP), and Prime flats have a higher subsidy clawback upon resale.

Standard flats do not incur subsidy recovery when they are sold and come with a five-year MOP.

Three-room flats at Tampines Bliss were also oversubscribed, with more than three first-time applicants for each of the 80 units.

Property analysts said the high application rates for the Tampines projects were expected as they are located in a mature town with many nearby amenities and also have shorter waiting times of under three years.

Tampines Nova, in particular, is a rare site given the scarcity of land for new development in the Tampines Central area, said Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group.

“Projects situated near MRT stations will continue to appeal to buyers, given the convenience (they offer),” she added.

Redhill Peaks in Bukit Merah drew 1,982 applicants for 593 four-room flats, despite having the longest waiting time in this launch at four years and seven months. The flats come with a 12 per cent subsidy clawback.

The first-time application rate stood at two for these Prime flats, which means there were two applicants for every available flat.

But the three-room flats in the project were undersubscribed among first-timers – with a rate of 0.7; all first-time applicants for these flats are set to get a chance to select a unit.

Mr Eugene Lim, key executive officer of property agency ERA Singapore, said the lukewarm demand could be because a large number of flats had been launched in Bukit Merah in 2025.

In 2025, more than 3,000 flats were launched in the town, including 1,021 units in the first phase of Redhill Peaks launched in October.

Some home buyers may also be holding out for the

1,960-unit BTO project in the new Berlayar estate

that will be launched in June in the next BTO exercise, which also falls under Bukit Merah, he added.

In all, 4,692 flats in the February exercise were on sale across Bukit Merah, Sembawang, Tampines and Toa Payoh.

At Kim Keat Crest, a Plus project in Toa Payoh, the three- and four-room flats were undersubscribed with a first-time application rate of below one.

Mr Lim said the subdued interest could be attributed to the project’s distance from Toa Payoh Central – it is a 20-minute walk or 10-minute bus ride from Toa Payoh MRT station – coupled with its Plus classification.

“Flats that require a longer commute to the MRT are commonly classified as Standard,” he noted.

“Most applicants who are willing to take on the strict resale restrictions for Plus flats look for advantageous location attributes, such as walking proximity to an MRT station. Hence, they might be discouraged from applying for this project.”

Application rates were also below one for the four- and five-room Standard flats in Sembawang Deck and Sembawang Voyage, which are located in the new Sembawang North housing area.

The rate for three-room flats in Sembawang Deck stood at 1.3.

Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property portal Mogul.sg, said the lower application rates could be because the projects are not located near an MRT station.

As at 5pm on Feb 11, the total number of applicants in the February exercise stood at 14,052. This works out to an overall application rate of three, which is lower than the two most recent exercises in October 2025 (3.4) and July 2025 (4.2).

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at real estate agency Huttons Asia, said some buyers could be waiting to apply for BTO projects that will be launched in June, which are located in attractive locations such as Upper Thomson and Berlayar.

Those who get a queue number for the February launch can expect to book their flat at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh between July and November.