SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - On Dec 5, 6,057 new HDB flats were launched for sale under the December 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise. HDB figures as of 5pm on Dec 11 show that 12,235 applications have been received for the flats, which are located over seven towns — Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Bukit Panjang, Jurong West and Woodlands. The exercise closes at 11.59pm on Dec 11.

This works out to an application rate of 2.0 times, slightly higher than the application rate for the October 2023 BTO exercise which clocked in at 1.6 times, observes Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty. The October exercise saw the launch of 6,800 new flats across Queenstown, Kallang-Whampoa, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah.

Nonetheless, application rates remain lacklustre, Gafoor notes. “Looking at BTO launches in the last two years (February 2021 to May 2023), the application rates typically ranged from 2.5 to 8.1 times,” he remarks.

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Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics for Huttons Asia concurs, highlighting that the December BTO exercise application rate falls below the firm’s projections. “We had estimated higher application numbers in December due to some highly anticipated BTO launches in Bishan and Woodlands.”

PropNex’s Gafoor attributes the mild response to the tighter non-selection rules that kicked in from the October launch. “This has perhaps helped to sift out those who are applying merely to try their luck and now we are seeing a truer picture of BTO demand,” he remarks.

This may also signal that the demand for new public housing has largely stabilised, he adds. Moving forward, he expects that the overall application rate of BTO launches will range between two and three times the number of available flats. However, this could still vary slightly at times, depending on the supply and location of flats launched.

Five-room flats in Woodlands saw the strongest demand in the December BTO exercise, with 1,783 applications received for the 260 units available, or 6.9 times. The application rate stood at 4.0 times for first-timers and 61.5 times for second-timer families.

Other flat types in the Woodlands projects also saw healthy demand. The 197 units of 2-room flexi flats drew 1,348 applicants, the 176 units of 3-room flats had 352 applicants, while the 614 four-room units attracted 1,644 applicants. Overall, the projects registered an application rate of 4.1 times for 1,247 flats available.

“We think the appeal of the Woodlands projects lie in their proximity to the Woodlands MRT station, as well as the Woodlands town centre,” says PropNex’s Gafoor. He also notes some applicants may perceive the projects to be equivalent to Plus flats per the new flat classification system that will be implemented from 2H2024 and have opted to purchase a flat now.  Under the new classification, Plus flats are subjected to stricter resale and rental conditions and a 10-year minimum occupation period.

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The BTO project in Bishan saw the second-highest overall application rate at 3.0 times for the 732 flats launched for sale. This is the first BTO in a mature estate with a waiting time of less than three years, Lee notes.

He adds that the city-fringe project is not subject to subsidy clawbacks and resale restrictions, unlike the two Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) projects in the December exercise located in Bukit Merah and Queenstown.  “This shows that buyers want a good central location but without the PLH restrictions. Furthermore, the clawback rate for these two PLH BTO launches was increased to 8%, perhaps reducing the appeal of the flats,” Lee says.

The PLH projects in Bukit Merah and Queenstown posted application rates of 1.3 times and 1.0 times respectively, as at 5pm. In addition to tighter restrictions and the higher clawback rate, the projects’ longer completion time of almost five years may have also dampened demand, Gafoor observes.

The project in Bedok was also less popular. It received an application rate of about 1.1 times for the 1,234 units offered for sale. “The moderate application rate could be due to the large number of units available, but it could also be that some prospective applicants may have their eyes on the two Bedok launches in the February 2024 BTO, where some 950 new flats could be launched,” Gafoor notes.

Meanwhile, the projects in Bukit Panjang and Jurong West saw application rates of 1.9 and 1.2 respectively.

The subdued response to the December BTO exercise means that first-timer applicants stand a high chance of securing a BTO flat. Gafoor points out that the first-timer application rates for four-room flats in Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Bedok, Bukit Merah, Queenstown are all currently below one time, apart from Woodlands (two times) and Bishan (2.8 times). Meanwhile, three-room flat application rates among first-timer applicants across all projects are below one time.

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