Hot demand for Bidadari BTO flats

[reporter2]

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...dari-bto-flats

Hot demand for Bidadari BTO flats

Nov 18, 2015

Five-room flats oversubscribed on first day; estate's central location a draw, say experts

Janice Heng

Yeo Sam Jo


Within hours of yesterday's sales exercise kicking off, there were more applicants for five-room flats in the new Bidadari estate than the units available.

As of 5pm, there were 259 applicants chasing 151 such units, making them the most sought-after so far in the current exercise.

The bumper Housing Board launch, which began yesterday, marks the first time that flats are being offered in Bidadari and under the new two-room flexi scheme.

A total of 12,411 flats are on offer, comprising 7,061 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and 5,350 balance flats.

The record launch size stems from the planned September and November launches being merged, to allow new policies to kick in.

The 2,139 flats across three Bidadari projects are the only units in a mature town in this BTO exercise. Four-roomers there were also popular, with 399 applicants for 1,229 units so far.

Experts cited the new estate's central location as an attractive factor. "Bidadari is definitely an area where many flat applicants are looking forward to, notwithstanding its 'sad past'," said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng, referring to Bidadari's history as a cemetery.

Said PropNex Realty chief executive officer Mohamed Ismail Gafoor: "As a mature estate, we believe this 'future Bishan of Singapore' is going to be a hot seller."

As for prices in Bidadari, experts said they were "reasonable". They start at $297,000 for three-room flats, $433,000 for four-room flats and $544,000 for five-room flats.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that in May's BTO, Clementi five-roomers cost $576,000 to $725,000, yet drew almost 14 applicants for each unit.

Pilot Yu Shu Qing, 33, may get a Bidadari flat with his wife. He said: "It's a good location so it should be quite a hot piece of property."

But others like beauty adviser Nur Sahila Noor Sa-llehudin, 24, are shying away as they find the price steep. "Four-room flats in Bidadari are almost double the price of those in Sengkang," she noted. Sengkang four-roomers start at $252,000.

Also on offer are BTO flats in Choa Chu Kang, Sengkang, Bukit Batok, Hougang and Punggol.

Meanwhile, the concurrent Sale of Balance Flats exercise offers 1,443 flats across 14 mature towns - including a four-roomer at the Pinnacle@Duxton - and 3,907 flats across 11 non-mature towns.

Experts expect strong demand in this launch. "The slew of policies and incentives announced recently will increase flat buyers' interest," said Mr Ong.

"These include a higher income ceiling for new flats and a larger Special Central Provident Fund Housing Grant.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who visited the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh yesterday to speak to home buyers, noted in a Facebook post: "It was just Day 1, but the sales area was already abuzz with many home buyers."

"In fact, there is no need to rush," he added. Applications are open for 10 days instead of the usual seven, until 11.59pm on Nov 26. The public can apply online or in person.

Including balance flats in May and November, a total of 25,837 flats were offered this year.

The next launch is in February, offering about 4,150 BTO flats in Bidadari, Bukit Batok and Sengkang.

[reporter2]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/gove...ts-up-for-sale

Bumper crop of HDB flats up for sale

Of the 12,411 flats - HDB's largest launch ever - the Bidadari flats are expected to be the most popular, say consultants

By Lee Meixian

[email protected]

@LeeMeixianBT

Nov 18, 2015


AN unprecedented 12,411 flats in 25 estates were launched by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Tuesday under the November build-to-order (BTO) and sale of balance flats (SBF) exercise.

This is HDB's largest sales exercise, comprising 7,061 BTO flats across seven projects in the non-mature towns of Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Punggol and Sengkang, and another three projects in Bidadari estate in Toa Payoh.

Another 5,350 balance flats make up the rest of the supply.

In a statement, Singapore's public housing statutory board said: "This launch brings the total BTO supply in 2015 to 15,100 units, meeting HDB's commitment to launch 15,000 BTO flats for sale this year.

"Together with the 10,737 balance flats offered under the May and November 2015 SBF exercises, HDB has offered a total of 25,837 flats for sale in 2015."

It had delayed the September BTO launch to merge with November's to allow more buyers to benefit from the new policies announced in August, such as the new two-room flexi scheme; increase in income ceilings; and enhancements to the Special CPF Housing Grant (SHG).

All three kick in from this sales launch. Property consultants expect the new policies to increase the demand for new public flats.

For the two-room flexi scheme, HDB will offer 2,093 such units in Bidadari, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Punggol, and Sengkang in this BTO exercise.

At least 40 per cent of the supply of two-room flexi flats in a BTO project will be available to the elderly. Elderly citizens can choose the length of their lease - either a 99-year lease if eligible, or a short lease of between 15 and 45 years according to their needs and subject to conditions.

From August this year, the income ceilings for citizen households and single Singaporeans buying new HDB flats have also been raised to S$12,000 and S$6,000 respectively.

To help lower-income and middle-income households afford their first home, HDB also enhanced the SHG by doubling the maximum grant amount from S$20,000 to S$40,000, and raising the income ceiling from S$6,500 to S$8,500. Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, expects higher demand for the new homes in Bidadari despite their higher price points, due to their proximity to two MRT stations, Woodleigh and Potong Pasir.

He calls the mature estate the "future Bishan of Singapore". Prices start from S$433,000 for a four-room, and S$544,000 for a five-room.

ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim agreed that Bidadari flats will "steal the show", as there has been great pent-up demand for them.

"The 'kiasu' mentality among flat buyers would spur them to be first movers, for fear that later launches may be pricier once the estate starts to take shape," he said.

R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng expects application rates for the Bidadari flats to be at 3 to 5.5 times subscribed. He likens them to the upmarket Pinnacle@Duxton and flats in mature estates such as Bishan and Queenstown.

Newly installed Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong also said in a Facebook post, after visiting the HDB Hub on Tuesday, that he met some young couples who were interested in HDB's first waterfront project at Punggol Northshore, and others keen on the Bidadari projects and didn't mind paying more for their central location.

The application period in this exercise has been extended from the typical seven days to 10 days to give buyers more time to consider the wide range of flats offered. The deadline is Nov 26.

In February next year, HDB will offer about 4,150 BTO flats in Bidadari, Bukit Batok and Sengkang, it said.