February BTO exercise sees 4,428 units launched for sale
HDB has launched 4,428 flats for sale under the February Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise. The flats are spread across five sites over four estates in Queenstown, Kallang and Whampoa, Jurong West and Tengah.
This is the first BTO exercise since the Budget 2023 announcement on Feb 14, which set out measures targeted at helping first-time homebuyers. These include higher CPF housing grants for those looking to buy a resale flat and an additional ballot for BTO applications submitted by young married couples aged 40 and below. In his budget speech, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said the latter would be implemented later this year.
Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, believes the higher grants 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, adding that some first-time buyers may wait until the August BTO exercise, likely when the government will allow first-time families to get an additional ballot for their BTO applications.
The launches under the February BTO exercise feature affordable housing options for younger Singaporeans. Nicholas Mak, ERA Singapore’s head of research and consultant, expects “healthy demand” for these BTO projects, bolstered by first-timer applicants encouraged by the new measures.
Under the February BTO exercise, two of the five sites have been designated Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) projects. Introduced in November 2021, the PLH model aims to keep new flats in prime locations affordable at the initial purchase and when these units are resold on the open market.
The first is located in Kallang and Whampoa, on a site bounded
by Race Course Road, Hampshire Road and Farrer Park Road. Farrer Park Fields will have seven 24-storey blocks housing 1,274 units of tworoom flexi, three-room and fourroom 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, excluding grants.
The second PLH project, Ulu Pandan Glades, is situated in Queenstown along Ghim Moh Link and Commonwealth Avenue West. It is within walking distance of the Dover MRT Station on the EastWest Line. It will have 732 units comprising three- and four-room flats. Indicative prices start from $372,000 for a three-room flat to $541,000 for a four-room flat.
Good response expected for PLH sites
Analysts expect Farrer Park Fields to see a strong response given its proximity to town and two MRT stations: Farrer Park and Little India, 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.
Huttons Asia’s senior research director Lee Sze Teck adds that surrounding amenities — including Farrer Park Primary School, the upcoming Piccadilly Galleria, Tekka Centre and City Square Mall — could further boost the appeal of the project. For Ulu Pandan Glades, Lee says the site is close to another PLH project Dover Forest in Ulu Pandan, launched last November. “The prices for flats in Ulu Pandan Glades are similar to the earlier launch,” he adds.
Non-PLH projects in Kallang, Tengah and Jurong West
The February BTO exercise features a second project in Kallang and Whampoa. Known as Rajah Summit, it is located at a site 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 $459,000 for a four-room flat.
In Jurong West, HDB is launching Jurong West Crystal, located along Jurong West Street 93. Comprising two residential blocks 18-storeys each, it will house 271 units of three- and four-room flats. Prices start from $187,000 and $372,000 for a three- and four-room flat, respectively.
The last site is in the Brickland district of Tengah estate, bounded by Brickland Road and Tengah Boulevard. Brickland Weave will have 1,641 units across 12 residential blocks, making it the largest site under the February BTO exercise and the only one with five-room flats. Other unit types comprise tworoom 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.
Among the non-PLH projects, OrangeTee & Tie’s Sun expects the Jalan Rajah site to attract strong demand, given that it is near Toa Payoh Central. ERA’s Mak adds: “Future residents can benefit from the plethora of amenities at the future integrated development at Toa Payoh, which is located just north of the BTO site.”
The site in Tengah may also garner interest following the announcement that Anglo-Chinese School (Primary) will relocate 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.
Huttons’ Lee agrees, adding that an upcoming BTO launch in Tengah targeted in May sits next to AngloChinese School (Primary) and a future mixed-use development at Tengah MRT Station. He believes some applicants may choose to wait for this launch in May.
Meanwhile, the Jurong West site is expected to benefit from its location near Pioneer MRT Station. However, with only 271 flats, securing one through the balloting process may be challenging, adds One Global’s Sandrasegeran.