The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched 3,739 flats for sale on Tuesday (Feb 12) in the first Build-To-Order (BTO) and Re-Offer of Balance Flats (ROF) exercise of 2019.
SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched 3,739 flats for sale on Tuesday (Feb 12) in the first Build-To-Order (BTO) and Re-Offer of Balance Flats (ROF) exercise of 2019.
Of these, 3,162 are BTO units which will be spread across five projects – three in the non-mature towns of Jurong West and Sengkang, and two in the mature town of Kallang Whampoa.
The five projects are Boon Lay Glade, Jurong West Jewel, Fernvale Vines, Kallang Breeze and Towner Crest.
The flats are priced from S$95,000 for a two-room Flexi in the Boon Lay area to about S$523,000 for a four-room in Kallang Whampoa.
Eligible first-timer families can get up to S$80,000 of housing grants, the release said. These include up to S$40,000 of Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) and up to S$40,000 under the Special CPF Housing Grant (SHG).
“With these grants, flat buyers could pay as little as S$15,000 for a two-room Flexi flat, S$110,000 for a three-room flat, S$197,000 for a four-room flat, and S$333,000 for a five-room flat," said HDB.
Flat allocation priority will still be given to first-timer families, the release said. Those who wish to live with or stay close to their parents will also be given the option to do so.
Couples who wish to live with their parents can apply for a Three-Generation (3Gen) flat in Jurong West or Sengkang. Meanwhile, those who wish to live close to parents or married children in the same BTO project can submit a joint application under the Multi-Generation Priority Scheme.
Property analysts expect strong demand for flats in Kallang Whampoa, given their proximity to MRT stations.
"The Kallang/Whampoa flats are expected to be the 'hottest' in this exercise, as they are centrally located and not too far away from MRT stations," said ERA Realty's key executive officer Eugene Lim.
This is the first BTO sales launch in the Kallang Whampoa area since November 2016, noted OrangeTee & Tie's head of research and consultancy Christine Sun.
"The last BTO exercise at Kallang Residences in November 2016 was 12.1 times oversubscribed for the four-room HDB flats and 3.3 times oversubscribed for the three-room HDB flats," she said.
In addition to the BTO flats, 577 unselected flats from the Sale of Balance Flats exercise in May last year will also be on offer.
These consist of two to five-room flats, as well as 96 units of 3Gen and three executive flats across various towns and estates.
At least 95 per cent of the flat supply will be reserved for first-timer families and up to 5 per cent for second-timer families, HDB said. Should they meet the prevailing eligibility conditions, elderly may apply to buy a two-room Flexi flat.
However, families will be given priority for flat selection.
HDB said about 13 per cent of these ROF flats are already completed, while the rest are under construction.
Prices for ROF under this exercise start at S$179,000 for a three-room in a non-mature town. Three-generation flats in mature towns are priced from S$559,000.
Interested buyers may apply for the flats on offer from Tuesday to next Monday. However, they will only be able to take part in either the BTO or ROF exercise, not both.
The next HDB flat launch will be in May. This exercise will offer about 3,400 flats in Kallang Whampoa, Tengah and Woodlands.