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Nov HDB BTO launch: Which projects are the most attractive?

Artist’s impression of Plantation Grove in Tengah. Source: HDB

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched 3,802 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats for sale on Tuesday (13 Nov) under its latest sales exercise.

“The final launch of BTO (flats) for 2018 sums up to a grand total of 15,811 units, a dip of 10 percent compared to last year’s figures,” said PropNex Realty’s CEO Ismail Gafoor.

“This is the lowest number of BTO units released since the government ramped up in 2013 from 25,139 units. This is understandable, mainly because the subscription has normalised at the rate of 2 – 2.4 times during the last three BTO exercises of the current year.”

The flats are spread across five projects. One is located in the mature town of Tampines, while four projects are situated in the non-mature towns of Sembawang, Sengkang, Yishun and Tengah.

Nov 2018 BTO Sales Exercise
Nov 2018 BTO Sales Exercise

According to ERA Realty Network’s key executive officer Eugene Lim, the units in Sembawang, Sengkang and Yishun are the first batch of BTO flats with a shorter waiting time, meaning buyers can expect to get their keys within two to three years.

“Although their locations are slightly away from the town centres, we expect them to be more popular among buyers with more pressing housing needs due to the shorter waiting time and higher quota for first timers (95 percent compared to the usual 85 percent for 4-room and larger flats).”

But among the five, Ismail and Lim think that Plantation Grove in Tengah and Tampines GreenGem will stand out from the rest.

“This is the first batch of Tengah flats to be launched for sale, and we expect them to be well received. The flats are located near to two upcoming Jurong Region Line MRT stations, and have easy access to PIE and KPE. They are also near to the upcoming Jurong Innovation District. Prices are also relatively affordable, starting from $290,000 for a 4-room flat excluding grants,” noted Lim.

“The Tampines flats are quite attractively located near to the Tampines West MRT station on the Downtown Line. They should be quite popular among young couples who are currently residing in the Tampines/Bedok area with their parents, he added.

Overall, Ismail expects the subscription rate for the November 2018 BTO sales exercise to be around two times.

Aside from the BTO flats, the Housing Board is also offering 3,412 balance flats in 11 non-mature towns and 13 mature estates. About 37 percent of the units have already been completed and the remainder are under construction, with the majority of the flats reserved for first-timer families.

For the next BTO launch in February 2019, HDB will launch around 3,100 flats for sale in Sengkang, Jurong West and Kallang Whampoa.

Learn how to get your own BTO flat from application to key collection with PropertyGuru.

 

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg