Artist's impression of Farrer Park Fields, a Prime Location Public Housing project launched under the February 2023 BTO exercise (Picture: HDB)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - HDB has launched 4,428 flats for sale under the February 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise. The flats are spread across five sites over four towns — Queenstown, Kallang and Whampoa, Jurong West and Tengah. This is the first BTO exercise since the Budget announcement, where measures targeted at helping first-time homebuyers were announced, including higher CPF housing grants for those looking to buy a resale flat.
Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, believes this may divert some BTO demand to the resale market. “Since more subsidies are given, we may expect more eligible buyers to buy at popular locations such as mature estates, or they may buy slightly bigger flats,” she says.
Sun adds that some first-time buyers may wait until the August BTO exercise, which is likely when the government will allow first-time families to get an additional ballot for their BTO applications.
Under the February 2023 BTO exercise, two of the five sites have been designated Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) projects. The first - Ulu Pandan Glades - is located along Ghim Moh Link and Commonwealth Avenue West in Queenstown, close to the Dover MRT Station. It will have 732 units comprising three- and four-room flats. Indicative prices start from $372,000 for a three-room flat $541,000 for a four-room flat, excluding grants.
Artist's impression of Ulu Pandan Glades (Picture: HDB)
The second PLH project is in Kallang and Whampoa, on a site bounded by Race Course Road, Hampshire Road and Farrer Park Road. The development — Farrer Park Fields — will have seven 24-storey blocks housing 1,274 units of two-room flexi, three-room and four–room flats. Indicative prices start from $185,000 for a two-room flexi flat, $356,000 for a three-room flat, and $484,000 for a four-room flat.
Among the remaining three BTO sites, another is in Kallang, Whampoa, along Jalan Rajah. It has 510 three- and four-room flats in two 40-storey blocks. Prices start from $326,000 for a three-room flat and from $459,000 for a four-room flat.
In Jurong West, HDB is launching two residential blocks of 18 storeys, which will house 271 units of three- and four-room flats. The site is located along Jurong West Street 93. Prices start from $187,000 for a three-room flat and from $288,000 for a four-room one. (Find HDB flats for rent or sale with our Singapore HDB directory)
The last site is in the Brickland district of Tengah estate, bounded by Brickland Road and Tengah Boulevard. With 1,641 units across 12 residential blocks, it is the largest site under the February 2023 BTO exercise and the only one with five-room flats. Other unit types are two-room flexi, three- and four-room flats. Prices start from $97,000 for a two-room flexi flat, from $190,000 for a three-room flat, $291,000 for a four-room flat and $401,000 for a five-room flat.
Consultants expect Farrer Park Fields to see healthy demand given its proximity to town and two MRT stations – Farrer Park and Little India, the latter of which is an interchange for the Downtown and North-East Lines. “We can anticipate strong competition for Farrer Park Fields, particularly since BTO developments in the Kallang and Whampoa vicinity tend to be fiercely contested when near an MRT station,” says Mohan Sandrasegeran, One Global Group's senior analyst for research and content creation.
Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia’s senior research director, adds that surrounding amenities, including Farrer Park Primary School, the upcoming mall Piccadilly Galleria, Tekka Market and City Square Mall, further boost the appeal of the project. Lee adds that the other PLH project in Queenstown, Ulu Pandan Glades, is close to another PLH project, Dover Forest, launched last November. “The prices for flats in Ulu Pandan Glades are similar to the earlier launch.”
Regarding the non-PLH projects, OrangeTee & Tie’s Sun expects the Jalan Rajah site — though not near to an MRT station — to still attract strong demand given its location near Toa Payoh Central, which has ample amenities.
Artist's impression of Rajah Summit, the BTO project along Jalan Rajah (Picture: HDB)
The site in Tengah may garner interest following the announcement of ACS Primary’s relocation to Tengah in 2030. “This may result in more applicants vying for this batch of flats, although we do not expect a big spike in numbers,” says Sun.
Meanwhile, the Jurong West site is expected to benefit from its location near Pioneer MRT Station. However, with only 271 flats, securing a flat through the balloting process may be challenging, says One Global Group’s Sandrasegeran.
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