HDB has launched 4,989 flats for sale under its August Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise, spread across seven projects in Hougang, Jurong East, Kallang Whampoa, Queenstown and Tampines, with waiting times that range from 3–5.5 years.

Queen’s Arc in the mature neighbourhood of Queenstown has the longest waiting time, at 67 months, which is mainly due to the “additional preparation works required for the site as well as the design of the project”, says HDB. One of the residential blocks within the project spans 39 storeys, which is taller than most BTO projects and would therefore require a longer construction time.

Queen’s Arc is bounded by Queen's Crescent and Queensway Drive and is within walking distance to Queensway Shopping Centre and the stretch of malls, including Ikea, along Alexandra Road.

Prices (excluding grants) at the project start from $382,000 for a three-room unit, and $540,000 for a four-room unit.

The other projects include three in the non-mature towns of Hougang and Jurong East, and another three in the mature towns of Kallang/Whampoa and Tampines.

The projects “are priced with a generous subsidy, taking into account factors such as location, flat attributes and prevailing market conditions”, and with prices that are considerably lower than the transacted prices of comparable resale flats nearby”, says HDB.

Applications for the BTO exercise can be made from Aug 11 to Aug 17 at the HDB dedicated webpage.

In November, HDB will launch about 4,400 BTO flats in towns/estates such as Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Jurong West, Kallang Whampoa and Tengah. Including the projects to be offered in November, HDB is set to launch some 17,000 BTO flats this year, which is higher than the 14,600 and 16,800 flats launched in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

In February next year, it is set to offer some 2,000 to 3,000 BTO flats in towns such as Geylang, Tengah and Yishun, subject to final confirmation.