Property watchers expect strong demand for the first batch of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Bidadari, reported Channel NewsAsia.
The BTO flats will be go on sale this month, with over 50 percent of the 2,139 units available being four-room flats. Another 567 will be three-room flats, 192 will be two-room units under the Flexi scheme, and 151 will be five-room flats. The HDB revealed that the said flats will be progressively completed from Q3 2019.
Situated within Singapore’s central region, the new Bidadari estate will have four districts — Alkaff, Woodleigh, Park Edge and Bartley Heights. The first three housing projects to be launched in this month’s BTO exercise will be in Alkaff district, which is the biggest in the estate. Alkaff Vista, the first project, is expected to be ready by Q3 2019, Alkaff LakeView in Q4 2019, and Alkaff Courtview in Q2 2020.
The HDB noted that the new estate, which is envisioned to be a “community in a garden”, will feature a 10-hectare park and a greenbelt that passes through the estate from Bartley Road to Upper Serangoon Road. It will also have social and commercial facilities, as well as cycling and pedestrian networks.
“We hope to encourage residents to take on walking and cycling as an alternative form of transport and moving around, rather than (driving) a car. We have also planned to have more bike-sharing and car-sharing within the estates, so it will be easier for residents who do not own cars to be able to move around as well,” said Lim Shu Ying, Director of Urban Planning at HDB.
The flats in Bidadari will be part of the 7,000 BTO flats to be launched this month, alongside other flats in Bukit Batok, Punggol Northshore, Hougang, Choa Chu Kang and Sengkang.
As the first BTO launch after the income ceiling was raised to S$12,000, Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Realty, believes “a lot of buyers have actually been holding back, waiting for Bidadari launch”.
“We will expect the take up to be very, very hot,” he said. He predicts that a majority of the buyers to be families, as well as those planning to start a family. The flats are also expected to attract those with young children, given that the estate is near reputable schools.
“Even though this was previously a cemetery, there is already a success story in the case of Bishan, where the flats are among the most highly priced in Singapore and are highly sought after,” said Lim.
Chris Koh, director of estate agency Chris International, also expect buyers to pay a premium for the flats due to their central location. According to him, prices will likely be 10 percent higher than that of flats in Sengkang and Punggol.
Cheryl Marie Tay, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg
