August 2022 BTO flats: More locations, more choices

August 16, 2022

Decisions, decisions, decisions

The upcoming round of Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise later this month features 4,960 flats spread over seven locations, more than the 4,583 flats from five sites in the previous exercise in May.

All BTO flats offered for application in May were oversubscribed. The lowest application rate of 1.5 was for three-room flats in Queenstown which was launched under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model. On the flipside, five-room flats in Jurong West received the highest application rate of 15.4.

Residents from the recent Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 have the option of applying for a new flat during this BTO exercise. However, they are restricted to flats in Ang Mo Kio, Choa Chu Kang, Woodlands and Tampines. Up to 10% of the flats will be set aside for priority allocation to them.

Bukit Merah: anticipated PLH sites

This round of BTO has only two sites in a central location, down from three sites in the previous exercise. The Bukit Merah site along Alexandra View was scheduled to be launched in May but this was delayed till this round of BTO.

The sole Bukit Merah site (Bukit Merah Ridge) launched for application in May had 1.6 applicants per three-room flat and 5.4 applicants per four-room flat. The low applicant rate for three-room flats in Bukit Merah Ridge means that the odds favour those applying for a three-room flat in the Bukit Merah sites.





Analysis of Bukit Merah sites

Both sites are within walking distance of an MRT station along the East-West Line and are about five stops away from the CBD. Additionally, Bukit Merah is an established housing estate with numerous amenities and Orchard Road is a short drive away.

A drawback of the sites is the lack of five-room flats for application. Larger families will find the smaller flats a tight squeeze, especially with more companies adopting flexible working arrangements.

Read more at: https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-new...s-more-choices