The Housing Board launched 7,214 flats for sale yesterday under the Build-To-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats exercise this month.
There are 3,802 BTO units for sale, with prices ranging from $101,000 (excluding grants) for a two-room Flexi unit in non-mature estate Tengah, to over $472,000 (excluding grants) for a five-room flat in mature estate Tampines.
The number includes 1,620 flats at BTO project Plantation Grove in Tengah, Singapore's first new town in more than 20 years after Punggol, as well as the first batch of BTO flats with shorter waiting times.
Tengah is touted as the first "forest town" in Singapore, and will have a car-free town centre and lush greenery around the site. The town will be about 700ha, roughly the size of Bishan.
Buyers of the BTO project in Tengah can also opt to subscribe to a centralised cooling system, the first to be piloted in an HDB estate, instead of installing their own air-conditioning units.
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said in a Facebook post that this would translate into greater energy efficiency and cost savings for residents.
Plantation Grove is located in Plantation District, the first of five housing districts in Tengah. Plantation District will have about 10,000 flats when completed. It will occupy 90ha, about the size of Bidadari.
One of the distinctive features of the district is a 700m-long, 40m-wide farmway - a wide green stretch containing parks and farms - weaving through the housing precincts and connecting residents to recreational facilities nearby.
ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim expects the Tengah flats to be well-received as they are located near stations on the upcoming Jurong Region Line, which will open from 2026. They are also near the Pan-Island Expressway and the upcoming Jurong Innovation District.
He added that the relative affordability is a draw, and estimated there would be between one and three people applying for each unit.
Digital marketing executive Khoe Wei Jian, 25, is one of those keen on living in Tengah. He and his fiancee Claire Tan, 24, also a marketing executive, are eyeing a four-room flat.
"It is a non-mature estate, so it is cheaper, and we expect the value to rise. There will also be a lot of development, so the convenience will be there too," said Mr Khoe.
The November launch also comprises the first batch of BTO flats with shorter waiting times, of two to three years from application, in the Sembawang, Sengkang and Yishun projects. The usual waiting time is about three to four years.
There are also 3,412 Sale of Balance Flats for sale in locations such as Bukit Batok, Bishan and Clementi.
