Demand for bigger flats in Ang Mo Kio and Tampines is particularly high during the BTO exercise in August

September 6, 2022


Sun Plaza Spring, a project in Tampines that was unveiled as part of the August BTO exercise, as depicted in an artist's impression (Picture:HDB)

On September 5th, the August 2022 BTO exercise was ended, and there were a total of 39,136 applications submitted for the 4,993 units that were put up for sale. According to Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, this is around thirty percent more than the approximately twenty-seven thousand applications that were received during the BTO exercise in May, when 4,583 units were released.

Given that prices of resale flats and private residences are on the rise, Sun feels that the larger number of applicants may be a reflection of more purchasers turning to the BTO market because BTO units are now more cheap than other housing options. Recent months have not seen a significant uptick in the number of new private house openings. Because of this, purchasers now have fewer home alternatives, which is especially problematic for buyers who are constrained for cash, she says.

The greatest application rates were seen for larger apartments located in established communities. There were 22.3 and 26.3 times as many people applying for apartments with four or five rooms as there were openings for at Sun Plaza Spring in Tampines. There were either 150 or 177 units available. The application rate for the three hundred and ninety-eight four-room flats in the Ang Mo Kio development known as Central Weave@AMK was twelve point six percent, while the seventeen point five-room and three-generation flats, which totaled three hundred and seventy-two units, were given.

Sun believes that the abundance of facilities and the close proximity to MRT stations contributed to the appeal of the projects located in established estates. She goes on to say that "The Tampines project also boasts one of the quickest completion times," which is around 36 months.

Havelock Hillside and Alexandra Vale, which are both located in Bukit Merah, are the two projects that were launched under the prime location public housing (PLH) model. These developments witnessed application rates of 2.7 for three-room flats and 6.1 for four-room apartments respectively. There were a total of 8,883 applications submitted for the 1,651 PLH units that were made available.

Even though there was a waiting list for PLH units, Sun states that the application rate was lower than it was for past PLH launches. "Perhaps the pool of purchasers has narrowed since many PLH model flats have been issued over the past year," she opines, "and some individuals may have already bought a unit in the earlier BTO exercises." This is due to the fact that numerous PLH model flats have been produced over the last year.

She goes on to say that potential purchasers may have been discouraged due to the stricter selling requirements and the 10-year minimum occupancy time for PLH units. When PLH flat owners sell their properties for the first time, they are required to pay back a subsidy of 6% of the purchase price.