SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has announced that it will be developing a 398,265 sq ft (3.7ha) site in Bukit Merah into a new public housing estate that will contain about 1,500 flats.

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“The new housing projects will add to the good geographical spread of public housing to meet the different needs of Singaporeans, including young families who want to live near their parents in the area for better mutual care and support,” says HDB in a press release on Dec 15.

The brownfield site was previously occupied by low-rise rental flats that were demolished in the 1990s. The area was earmarked for future residential development since the 1998 URA Master Plan. As a result of this development plan, the Alexandra Post Office will be acquired by the government to facilitate the planning and design of the future housing projects. The Singapore Land Authority has gazetted the acquisition as of Dec 15.

“The proposed 1,500 HDB flats in Redhill is very appealing, not just in terms of its location but also its connectivity to different parts of the island. It is at the city fringe, within a 10-minute drive or train ride to the CBD,” says Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research at Huttons Asia. (Find HDB flats for rent or sale with our Singapore HDB directory)

He does not expect the flats in this project to fall under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model, the new public housing framework that applies additional eligibility and minimum occupation terms to flats in areas the government deems are in prime locations.

Resale flats in the vicinity of the future estate, such as City Vue @ Henderson, have seen units sell for $620,000 to $1,256,000 this year. “If there is a BTO launch (at the development site) today, the prices for a four-room flat may start from $630,000,” says Lee.

In the Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise in May 2021, Telok Blangah Beacon in Bukit Merah saw overwhelming demand with 604 and 3,474 applicants vying for 105 units 3-room flats and 70 units of 4-room flats respectively, based on data provided by PropNex Realty.

"In the HDB resale market, flats in the area also tend to be popular, with buyers willing to pay a premium for choice units. The average resale prices of HDB flats in Bukit Merah estate have picked up this year - 4-room and 5-room units in Bukit Merah have an average resale price of $706,000 and $804,000 respectively in 2021. Bukit Merah estate had 21 HDB flats that were resold for at least $1 million in 2021, based on data retrieved on 15 Dec," says Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty.

The site is bounded by Alexandra Road, Prince Charles Crescent and Alexandra Canal. The site is close to Redhill MRT Station on the East-West Line, and road connectivity is through Alexandra Road. The plot is also located beside Redhill Primary School, and nearby Crescent Girls’ School, Gan Eng Seng School, and Queenstown Secondary School.

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