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Over three applications per flat in latest HDB sale

Published on Apr 4, 2012

By Daryl Chin


MORE than 26,000 people had applied for the nearly 8,000 units being offered in the Housing Board's latest sale of flats when applications closed yesterday - a subscription rate of 3.3.

The 7,978 flats included those under the Build-To-Order (BTO) scheme as well as 'balance flats' - those not sold in previous sales, that is. This was the first launch in which HDB imposed stricter rules to curb frivolous demand. If house-hunters cancel their application after paying an option fee, they will be barred for a year from buying a new BTO or resale flat using a housing grant.

The most popular BTO flats were in three blocks in Clementi located next to Trivelis, a Design, Build and Sell Scheme project. DBSS projects are HDB flats built by private developers and are typically pricier.

Buyers also flocked to mature estates for balance flats. The 49 flats up for sale at the Pinnacle@Duxton, for instance, saw more than 27 applications per unit.

This BTO exercise also saw the elderly responding well to a supply of studio apartments - including ones in Toh Yi Drive that hit the headlines after residents objected to the Government siting them there.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a blog post yesterday that overall subscription rates for first- and second-timers generally dipped compared to past launches.

'The application rates suggest that our policies are responding well to the diverse needs of our flat buyers,' he said.

Besides the higher allocation of flats for second-timers in non-mature estates, this launch also saw the launch of schemes to foster closer family ties.

Mr Khaw said more people were taking advantage of the Married Child Priority Scheme to live near to parents. About 30 per cent of total applications applied for it, compared to the usual 20 per cent.

Eight pairs of married children and their parents also applied under the new Multi-Generation Priority Scheme, which allows them to live within the same precinct - in this case, in Bedok.