Punggol BTO project launched

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,325603,00.html?

Published March 27, 2009

Punggol BTO project launched


THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) yesterday launched a build-to-order (BTO) project at Punggol - the second of the year after one launched at Woodlands in February.

The 519-unit Nautilus @ Punggol, at the junction of Punggol East and Punggol Field, will have 413 four-room flats and 106 five-room flats.

Four-room flats will sell for $228,000-$274,000, while five-room flats will cost $305,000-$357,000. These prices are cheaper than those of similar flats in the market, which makes them affordable for first-time buyers, HDB said. Nautilus units are priced lower than recent BTO launches there mainly because of differences in location and design, it said.

Recent offerings Punggol Arcadia and Punggol Regalia are premium projects with enhanced designs and better internal finishes, while Nautilus is a standard project with more basic features. Nautilus is also further from the town centre and main transport than the other two BTO projects.

Nevertheless, analysts expect solid demand. 'Nautilus is expected to be popular,' said Propnex spokesman Adam Tan. The flats are 'very attractively priced'.

Recent BTO offerings by HDB have seen strong demand. The Woodlands BTO project launched last month was more than four times subscribed.

And two other projects launched late last year - one in Choa Chu Kang and the other in Punggol - also saw good take-ups.

HDB intends to launch about 3,000 flats in Punggol this year as part of plans to remake the estate.

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http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_355101.html

March 27, 2009 Friday

HDB launches new batch of flats in Punggol

Units are smaller and cheaper due to design and location

By Jessica Cheam


The Housing Board (HDB) yesterday launched its first batch of new Punggol flats for the year.

Units are priced at 10 to 16 per cent below the launch of Punggol Regalia in December, primarily due to location and design features.

The flats are slightly smaller and 'further from the town centre and main transportation nodes', said an HDB statement yesterday.

The Nautilus @ Punggol is a standard project - essentially new flats with minimal frills and basic features.

On offer are 413 four-roomers of 90 sq m going for $228,000 to $274,000 and 106 five-roomers of 110 sq m priced from $305,000 to $357,000.

The Nautilus, consisting of eight blocks of 18 storeys each, is on the eastern side of the suburb and further from the Punggol town centre.

It is served by the Riviera and Coral Edge LRT stations.

In contrast, Punggol Regalia, located at a prime spot next to Punggol MRT station , is a premium project priced at $252,000 to $316,000 for a four-room unit and $342,000 to $428,000 for a five-room unit.

Premium flats come with enhanced architectural designs and better internal finishes.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said he expected healthy demand for the Nautilus although it 'may not be as good as' the response to HDB's Woodlands project launched last month.

Called Champions Court, that development offered 815 units, ranging from studio apartments to five-room flats.

ERA Asia-Pacific's associate director Eugene Lim said the Nautilus is 'very attractively priced' although its location may not be as alluring as previous Punggol projects.

In the long term, however, Punggol's transformation into a waterfront town will draw first-time home owners, he said.

The Nautilus will be constructed under the HDB's build-to-order (BTO) scheme where flats are built only if a certain level of demand is reached.

The HDB has said it plans to launch about 3,000 BTO flats in the first half of this year.

These include 1,400 smaller units, from studio apartments to three-roomers.

Buyers are likely to see more new flats in Punggol this year as the HDB moves to build up the suburb's population.

A site called Punggol Residences, next to Punggol MRT station, was recently marked as being under construction on Singapore Land Authority maps.

By 5pm yesterday, the HDB had received 72 applications for the 519 Nautilus flats.

In contrast, Champions Court attracted 205 applications for 815 flats on the first day of its launch.

[email protected]

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2203/punggolnewflats.jpg

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/417940/1/.html

HDB launches latest BTO project in Punggol

By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 26 March 2009 1917 hrs

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpkITatT.jpg
The Nautilus@Punggol

SINGAPORE: The Nautilus@Punggol is the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) latest Build-To-Order (BTO) project and the first in that area.

Prices for its 4- and 5-room units are about 20 to 30 per cent lower than the resale flats in that vicinity, signalling generous subsidies for these new flats.

The Nautilus@Punggol will have eight blocks comprising some 520 flats. Of these, nearly 80 per cent are 4-room flats and the rest are 5-room apartments. HDB said the prices of the new flats are affordable for first-time buyers.

Giving a comparison of resale flats about seven years old in Punggol, HDB said 4-room resale flats are currently going at between S$306,000 and S$350,000, while 4-room flats at The Nautilus will be sold at between S$228,000 and S$274,000.

Likewise, The Nautilus' 5-room flats are priced in the range of S$305,000 to S$357,000 against the resale price range of S$368,000 to S$428,888 for units in the Punggol area.

At such prices, analysts expect strong demand for the project.

Adam Tan, marketing manager, Propnex, said: "It will probably be about three times or more oversubscribed because they are releasing a rather small number of units for this project. Punggol is an up-and-coming estate. It's no longer a backwater estate – it's coming into its own."

HDB added that besides enjoying a generous market subsidy, eligible first-time buyers whose average monthly household income is S$5,000 or less can also qualify for an additional CPF Housing Grant of up to S$40,000. This grant can be used to offset the initial downpayment.

HDB also said that based on the income of flat applicants in the fourth quarter of last year, an applicant for The Nautilus@Punggol whose income is at the median level will not need to fork out cash to meet their monthly housing commitments, which would be fully covered by their monthly CPF contributions.

The Nautilus@Punggol is part of HDB's programme to remake the heartlands. For the whole of this year, HDB is planning about six BTO projects in Punggol, building some 3,000 new flats in that area.

Applications for The Nautilus@Punggol flats close on April 8.


- CNA/so