HDB to launch up to 23,000 BTO flats a year over next two years
SINGAPORE - Up to 23,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be launched each year in 2022 and 2023 to meet the strong demand for public housing, said the Housing Board on Thursday (Dec 16). This represents a 35 per cent increase every year in the number of flats available, from the 17,000 flats launched this year, said HDB. Next year, home buyers can tap BTO flats across mature and non-mature towns such as Bukit Merah, Jurong West, Kallang Whampoa, Queenstown, Tengah, Toa Payoh and Yishun. National Development Minister Desmond Lee said at a press conference that HDB will be prepared to launch up to 100,000 flats from 2021 to 2025, and will calibrate supply based on prevailing demand. Mr Lee noted that BTO application rates have increased from 3.7 applications per BTO flat in 2019 to 5.5 in 2021, despite more flats being offered by the HDB. HDB launched around 14,600 units in 2019 and around 17,000 units a year in 2020 and 2021. The strong demand was driven by newly married couples and a growing trend of people choosing to live in smaller households, added Mr Lee. HDB said that a buoyant resale market amid the Covid-19 pandemic also channelled more demand to the BTO market. HDB added: ...
Record 29 million-dollar HDB flats sold in November; resale prices rise at faster pace
SINGAPORE - Housing Board resale flat prices rose for the 17th consecutive month, climbing at a faster pace of 1.3 per cent in November compared with October, according to flash data from real estate portals 99.co and SRX on Thursday (Dec 9). Last month's resale prices had lodged the highest monthly growth since February this year when price rose by 1.4 per cent, and were 13.8 per cent higher than in November 2020, data showed. Price hikes were seen in both mature and non-mature estates and across all flat types. November also saw 29 HDB resale flats changing hands for at least $1 million, the highest number of million-dollar flats sold in a month, smashing the previous record of 26 such units in August. The most expensive flat sold last month was a $1.268 million five-room Design, Build and Sell Scheme unit at City View @ Boon Keng. The 29 million-dollar flats made up 1.1 per cent of last month's total resale transactions. This brings the total number of such flats to 223 in the first 11 months of this year, in what has already been a record year for million-dollar flats. There were 82 million-dollar flats for the whole of last year. November's record high number of million-dollar...
Demand for BTO HDB flats jumped 70% in 2020, with 87,800 applications
SINGAPORE - Demand for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats jumped 70 per cent in 2020 with some 87,800 applications, driven by marriage and family formation and as multigenerational living loses popularity. Comparatively, 51,400 BTO applications were made in 2019, and 38,500 applications in 2018, said the Housing and Development Board on Sunday (Nov 21). The number of BTO flats launched, however, did not keep up with demand, with the gap increasingly widening over the last three years. Specifically, only 16,800 BTO flats were launched last year, compared with 14,600 flats in 2019 and 15,800 in 2018. According to HDB, there remains strong demand in both mature and non-mature estates, with the demand for BTO flats in mature estates remaining consistently higher. It said the strong demand was driven by marriage and family formation. Citing the 2020 population census, it said the number of married couples have increased from more than 880,000 in 2010 to more than 977,000 last year. It also said the annual average number of Singaporean marriages from 2015 to 2019 was 23,600, up from the 22,400 from between 2010 and 2014. Changing social norms and aspirations also drove up demand. Specifically, m...
What is HDB’s prime location public housing model? Will The Pinnacle@Duxton be affected?
SINGAPORE - Future Housing Board (HDB) flats in certain locations will be subject to tighter buying and selling conditions under a new prime location public housing (PLH) model. The PLH model is aimed at keeping future HDB flats in prime, central locations affordable and inclusive. "If left to the forces of the private market, it is likely that these attractive locations would likely become very expensive and exclusive locations, with housing that only the well-to-do can afford," said National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Tuesday (Oct 26). A record number of HDB flats have changed hands for at least $1 million this year, with The Pinnacle @ Duxton arguably the “poster boy” for such transactions, although such units are not exclusively located in the central area. Mr Lee said the PLH model was developed after almost a year-long public engagement with more than 7,500 Singaporeans. "We recognise that we are acting against very powerful social and economic forces that drive stratification and segregation in every society, especially in successful cities," he said, adding that the model is necessary to achieve equitable outcomes. Here are the key features of the PLH model and con...
Subsidy clawback, 10-year MOP for new prime location HDB flats to keep them affordable, inclusive
SINGAPORE - Future Housing Board (HDB) flats built in prime, central locations will be subjected to a 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP) and additional subsidies will be clawed back by the Government upon their resale. These are among the key measures under a new prime location public housing (PLH) model, aimed at keeping prime HDB flats affordable and inclusive, announced by National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Tuesday (Oct 26). The first Build-to-Order (BTO) project under this model will be located in Rochor and launched next month. The pool of resale buyers of these prime HDB flats will also be limited to households who earn not more than $14,000 a month and at least one applicant must be a Singapore citizen. Under the PLH model, fewer flats may be set aside under HDB's Married Child Priority Scheme, which gives priority to applicants whose parents or children live in the same area. Currently, up to 30 per cent of new flats are set aside under this scheme for families buying a flat for the first time. At a media briefing on Tuesday, Mr Lee said the new model is to keep public housing in prime locations affordable, accessible and inclusive for Singaporeans, both at t...
First BTO project in Rochor under new prime housing model to launch in November
SINGAPORE - The first project under a new model for public housing in prime locations will be built in Rochor and launched at the Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise next month. The project will have a mix of 960 three-room and four-room flats, and also include 40 two-room rental flats, as part of efforts to make living in prime areas accessible to all. It will be located on two plots of land along Weld Road and Kelantan Road next to Jalan Besar MRT station, said the National Development Ministry and Housing Board in a joint statement on Wednesday (Oct 27). An open-air carpark next to Sim Lim Tower used to occupy one plot, while the other was vacated by the Sungei Road flea market in July 2017. Besides an MRT station at their doorstep, future residents will also be within walking distance of Berseh Food Centre and Stamford Primary School. At a media briefing on Tuesday (Oct 26), National Development Minister Desmond Lee said more HDB flats will be rolled out progressively after the Rochor project, in prime areas within and surrounding the city centre. Moving forward, HDB will launch at least one prime location housing project per year, he said, adding that the proportion of new prime loc...
BTO flat waiting times between 4 and 5 years, even with Covid-19 delays: Desmond Lee
SINGAPORE - The average waiting time for ongoing Build-to-Order (BTO) flats is between four and five years, even after taking into account delays brought about by the pandemic, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee. "Some have said that waiting times have risen to six to seven years. This is not the case," he told Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 5). "By and large, barring further unexpected developments, most flat buyers can expect to move into their flats within four to five years after booking their flats." The minister was responding to Ms Cheryl Chan (East Coast GRC), who had asked if estimated completion dates are expected to be pushed back, given the impact that Covid-19 has had on the construction sector. For BTO projects launched this year and last year, estimated waiting times range between three and 5½ years. The Hougang Citrine development, launched in August, is expected to be completed in three years, and the waiting time for Alkaff Breeze in Bidadari, launched in February, is just over three years. Garden Court @ Tengah, launched last November, has a waiting time of about 3½ years. But several projects - including Queen's Arc in Queenstown, launched in August - ar...
HDB resale prices rise in August to just 0.1% below peak; record high of 26 million-dollar flats sold: SRX
SINGAPORE - Housing Board resale prices rose for the 14th consecutive month, climbing at a faster pace of 1.1 per cent in August compared with July, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX on Thursday (Sept 9). Prices are just 0.1 per cent off the peak in April 2013 according to SRX data, which means September prices are likely to hit a record high as strong demand continues to outstrip flat supply. With more construction delays expected, resale flat demand strengthened despite August being the Hungry Ghost month, when sales typically slow down. Last month, The Straits Times reported that five Build-To-Order (BTO) projects are facing even longer delays as their main contractor Greatearth has gone bust due to financial difficulties. The completion dates for these BTO projects, and many other ongoing ones, had already been pushed back because of manpower and supply disruptions in the construction sector caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, said more home seekers could have turned to the resale market in the face of uncertainty in the BTO market. "Some of the affected buyers may have chosen t...
Over 4,900 HDB BTO flats launched, including in Queenstown, Jurong East for the first time in about a decade
SINGAPORE - A total of 4,989 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats across seven housing projects in five estates were launched for sale by the Housing Board (HDB) on Wednesday (Aug 11). This was the third sales exercise for the year, with a median waiting time of just over four years for flats to be completed. A highly anticipated BTO project is Queen's Arc in Queenstown - one of the most sought-after mature housing estates in Singapore's oldest town - where 610 three-room and four-room flats are on offer across two blocks. The site is next to Alexandra Hospital and is bounded by Queen's Crescent and Queensway Drive. This is the first time in nine years new flats are being launched in Queenstown. The last BTO project launched there was the 1,179-unit Ghim Moh Edge project in November 2012, which sits next to the future housing land parcel that will be carved out from Dover Forest. The prices then started from $310,000, without grants, for a three-room flat and $450,000 for a four-room flat. According to official HDB data, there have been at least seven units in Ghim Moh Edge that have changed hands for at least $1 million. The most recent inked deal was $1.07 million for a five-room unit in A...
HDB resale prices rise for 13th straight month in July, though growth pace slows
SINGAPORE - Demand for Housing Board resale flats remained strong in July, with prices continuing to climb and more flats changing hands despite tightened Covid-19 measures in the second half of the month. HDB resale prices rose for the 13th straight month, advancing 0.5 per cent in July compared with June, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX on Thursday (Aug 5). However, the pace of price gains slowed for the second month, which could be an indication of price resistance from buyers, noted Huttons Asia senior director of research Lee Sze Teck. Year on year, resale prices increased 13.2 per cent from July last year and are just 1.2 per cent off their peak in April 2013. The rise in prices for resale flats last month was broad-based, climbing for both mature and non-mature estates, and almost all room types. Only prices for executive flats dipped, by 0.6 per cent. A total of 2,662 resale flats changed hands last month, rising 15.2 per cent from the month before. On July 22, Singapore returned to phase two (heightened alert) where group sizes were cut to two people, among other measures. ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said that despite the vi...
800 more interim rental flats under HDB scheme but qualifying household income capped at $7,000
SINGAPORE - An additional 800 interim rental Housing Board flats will be set aside for families affected by Build-To-Order (BTO) construction delays, but there will be stricter eligibility criteria for those wishing to apply for these units. To apply for a unit under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) from Wednesday (Aug 4) onwards, the household combined monthly income cannot be more than $7,000, said the HDB on Tuesday. The income reflected at the point of sales application for the BTO flat will be the basis for consideration, said HDB. Households whose incomes have fallen to $7,000 and below since their sales application may contact HDB directly. The household income ceiling is to ensure that the flats, which are highly subsidised, are allocated to those who are less able to afford renting a flat on the open market, said HDB. The PPHS provides interim housing to households awaiting the completion of their BTO flats with units allocated by ballot. Rents range from $400 for a two-room flat in Marsiling, $600 for a three-roomer in Hougang and $1,500 for a four-room unit in Tiong Bahru. Priority will be given to married couples with children aged 18 and under in the se...
Almost 50% more BTO projects launched in mature estates in 2020 than in 2017 to cater to demand: HDB
SINGAPORE - As property seekers continue to home in on flats in mature estates, the Housing Board (HDB) has rolled out more Build-To-Order (BTO) projects in these prime locations. It said on Sunday (July 25) that 13 such projects were offered last year, compared with nine in 2017 - an almost 50 per cent rise. Projects in mature estates formed 44 per cent of the overall BTO launches in 2017 but the proportion climbed to 55 per cent last year, said HDB. Still, it was not easy to bag a unit in a choice area like Bishan, Toa Payoh or Kallang/Whampoa. The average application rate for a BTO flat in mature estates rose from 2.8 times in 2017 to 6.7 times last year. The average rates in non-mature estates, which include Bukit Batok and Tengah, were 2.1 times in 2017 and 4.8 times last year. Overall, there has been buoyant demand for new flats in the past four years, with the number of applicants vying for each BTO unit increasing from 2.3 in 2017 to 5.8 in 2020. Some projects in particular have drawn sky-high interest. In the May launch, Telok Blangah Beacon in Bukit Merah attracted almost 50 applicants for each of its 70 four-room flats, despite a waiting time of more than five years for ...
HDB resale prices rise for 12th straight month; 19 million-dollar flats sold in June
SINGAPORE - The Housing Board resale market bounced back quickly last month, with prices continuing to climb and more flats changing hands as tightened Covid-19 measures were eased. HDB resale prices rose for the 12th straight month, advancing 0.9 per cent last month compared with May, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX on Thursday (July 8). The HDB resale market has "returned to business as usual", said ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak, who added that the latest figures show that people are getting used to the safe distancing measures and restrictions imposed by the Government as a result of the pandemic. Year on year, resale prices increased 13.2 per cent from June last year, and are just 1.7 per cent off their peak in April 2013. The rise in prices for resale flats last month was broad-based, climbing for both mature and non-mature estates, as well as across all room types. A total of 2,311 resale flats changed hands last month, rising 17.5 per cent from the month before. Huttons Asia senior director of research Lee Sze Teck said the jump in transaction volume reflects the demand that was artificially constrained by viewing restrictions i...
Hard to say goodbye: A look at the options for affected Tanglin Halt residents
SINGAPORE - A total of 31 blocks in Tanglin Halt are slated to be torn down from the end of this year under the Housing Board's Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers). Here is more about the project and the options for affected residents: • Two markets and food centres and seven commercial blocks are to be demolished as well. • One of the last to be cleared will be the Tanglin Halt Market, which will be demolished by 2024. • It is the biggest Sers project since 1999 and involves 3,480 sold flats. • Eligible flat owners were offered rehousing benefits, such as compensation for the existing flat based on market value. • They will also receive a Sers grant of $15,000 for singles or $30,000 for joint singles and families, for the purchase of the replacement flats. • Residents can choose new homes from five replacement sites in Dawson, an estate near Queenstown MRT station. • They can also choose new homes from other HDB developments and are entitled to the same rehousing benefits. • They can also sell their Sers flats or transfer them to other owners, with rehousing benefits. • The estimated subsidised price range for the new flats at the replacement sites before the Sers grant ...
HDB resale prices rise for 11th straight month as volume dips on tighter Covid-19 rules
SINGAPORE - Tightened Covid-19 measures had some cooling effect on the Housing Board resale market last month as fewer property viewings were conducted in person, resulting in fewer flats changing hands. However, HDB resale prices continued to climb for the 11th straight month, rising 1.2 per cent last month compared with April, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX released on Thursday (June 3). A total of 1,966 resale flats were sold last month, a 16 per cent fall from April. Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, noted that the drop was not as drastic as during the circuit breaker period in April last year, when even tighter measures were introduced. Then, the HDB resale volume dropped by about 78.5 per cent, from 1,969 units in March to 423 units in the following month, she said. Resale volume for HDB flats in May was 440.1 per cent higher than the same month last year. Under the current phase two (heightened alert) measures, expected to be in place till June 13, households can receive only two unique visitors each day. PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said that this has affected property viewings t...
HDB to release site locations of upcoming BTO projects three months before launch, instead of six
SINGAPORE - In a move that surprised some home seekers as it deviated from the norm, the Housing Board (HDB) did not release on Tuesday (May 25) the site locations of upcoming Build-To-Order (BTO) projects for the November launch. The Straits Times understands that for future BTO launches going forward, HDB will only indicate the estates of the upcoming projects and the type of flats available six months ahead. The exact site locations and the total number of flats will only be released three months ahead of the launch at the August BTO sales exercise. Since March 2019, the HDB had been releasing projects details, such as site locations and the total number of flats, six months in advance. On Tuesday, the HDB said it will launch about 3,100 to 3,600 units of BTO flats in Choa Chu Kang (two-room flexi), Hougang (four-room and five-room), Jurong West (three-room and four-room), Kallang/ Whampoa (two-room flexi and four-room), and Tengah (two-room flexi, three-room, four-room and five-room), with more details to come at the next BTO exercise slated for August. The site locations and the total number of flats for each estate were not released. It was announced together with the launch ...