Artist’s impression of the Woodleigh Hillside BTO project in Bidadari estate. (Image source: HDB)
UPDATED: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched 8,748 flats on Thursday (18 May) in its second sales exercise for 2017.
They comprise 4,802 Build-To-Order (BTO) units spread across six projects in Woodlands, Yishun, Bidadari (Toa Payoh) and Geylang. Another 3,946 balance flats in 25 estates were also released. This takes the total number of flats launched for sale in the first half of 2017 to 12,804 units.
A range of 2-room Flexi to 3Gen flats are available, with prices starting from $73,000 for a 2-room Flexi flat in Woodlands to $622,000 for a 3Gen flat at Woodleigh Hillside in Bidadari, excluding housing grants.
According to the HDB, eligible first-time buyers can enjoy up to $80,000 of grants, comprising an Additional CPF Housing Grant of $40,000 and a Special CPF Housing Grant of $40,000. With these grants, buyers of 2-room Flexi flats could pay as little as $4,000.
Lim Yong Hock, Key Executive Officer at PropNex Realty, expects to see high demand for new flats in mature estates, especially Geylang, as there has not been a BTO launch in that area in the last three years.
“The subscription rate for the new flats in Geylang is expected to be five applicants per unit, due to the limited number of flats launched, coupled with the attractive location and great accessibility. For Woodlands and Yishun, we can expect one to two applicants per unit, as the northern area is still popular, especially amongst those looking for affordable smaller units,” said Lim.
He noted that the price for a 3-room flat in Woodlands starts from $145,000, compared to prices in mature estates like Toa Payoh, which is more than double at $328,000 to $368,000.
Flat buyers can submit their applications online on the HDB website from today till 24 May 2017.
Meanwhile, the next BTO launch will take place in August, where some 3,850 flats in Bukit Batok and Sengkang will be offered for sale.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
