Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown most popular in Feb BTO launch

Four-room flats in city-fringe estates Kallang/Whampoa and Queenstown were the most popular among first-timer families in the latest Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise.

But demand was muted overall, with property analysts pointing out that the concurrent Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise diverted demand away from BTO flats. There were over 22,000 applicants for the 5,590 SBFunits which are in varying stages of completion.

For three-room and larger BTO flats, there was a median of one first-timer family applying for each of these units, according to the Housing Board's figures as at 5pm on Feb 17.

National Development Minister Desmond Lee said the first-timer family application rate in the latest exercise was lower than in sales launches in 2024, and those before the Covid-19 pandemic, and reflects "a more balanced demand-supply situation in the BTO market".

Application numbers show the most popular units were the four-room flats at Tanjong Rhu Parc Front, which had more than three first-time applicants vying for each of the 464 units.

Tanjong Rhu Parc Front is a Prime project near Geylang River, and the flats there come with a subsidy clawback of 9 per cent upon resale.

The latest launch is the second under the new flat classification system, which sorts BTO projects into Standard, Plus and Prime categories based on their proximity to the city centre, transport connectivity and amenities.

Plus and Prime flats, which are in more attractive locations, come with a subsidy clawback clause and a 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP).

Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm OrangeTee Group, said the Tanjong Rhu development drew higher application rates compared with two nearby projects launched in June 2024, as there are fewer units available and they are priced lower.

"This project is conveniently located near MRT stations and the city centre, with many units likely offering river views," she added.

At Stirling Horizon in Queenstown, 1.7 first-time applicants were vying for each of the 586 four-room flats in the Plus project. The subsidy recovery for this project has been set at 8 per cent.

Some 5,032 flats are on sale across five projects in Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Yishun and Woodlands. Application closed at 11.59pm on Feb 17 on the HDB Flat Portal.

February's exercise included 1,563 BTO flats from the first project in the Woodlands North Coast precinct.

The Woodlands North Verge project, located near Singapore's northern waterfront and Woodlands Checkpoint, is among three Standard projects on offer. Flats in these projects will not have additional restrictions upon resale, and come with a standard five-year MOP.

Three-, four- and five-room flats in the Woodlands project were undersubscribed among first-time applicants, meaning all prospective buyers will get a chance to select a unit.

ERA Singapore key executive officer Eugene Lim said this could be attributed to the lack of amenities surrounding Woodlands North at present.

Application rates were slightly higher for the other two Standard projects in Chencharu, an up-and-coming HDB residential area in Yishun.

The first-timer application rate was 1.3 for three- and five-room flats across Chencharu Green and Chencharu Vines, while the rate for four-room units stood at 1.

In all, there were over 12,400 applicants for the 5,032 flats on offer, with an overall application rate of 2.47 for each unit. This was in contrast with the 35,678 applicants for the 8,573 flats in the sales exercise in October 2024, which had an overall rate of 4.16.

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at real estate firm Huttons Asia, noted that there was higher demand for the SBF exercise, with over 22,000 applicants for the 5,590 flats.

This could be due to the shorter waiting time for balance flats, as about 40 per cent of those units are already completed, he said. The supply of over 700 balance flats in Woodlands and Yishun could have affected the application rates for the BTO projects there, he added.

Meanwhile, demand for two-room flexi BTO flats remained strong among singles and seniors. As at 5pm, there were more than 4,000 applicants for the 1,411 two-room units on sale.

The median application rate across the five projects was 4.8 for singles and 1.5 for seniors.

Mr Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at Singapore Realtors Inc, said that single applicants drove the strong demand for two-room flexi flats at Tanjong Rhu Parc Front. There were over 1,500 applicants for the 261 two-room flexi units there, and the flats were more than 11 times oversubscribed among singles.

Application rates for single home buyers have surged since the sales exercise in October 2024, when singles could apply for two-room flexi flats across all locations, instead of being restricted to non-mature estates.

"This policy shift opens new opportunities for singles to secure homes in well-connected and amenity-rich areas," he said.

In a Facebook post, Mr Desmond Lee said supply in the resale market will remain "relatively tight" in 2025 as fewer flats will reach their MOP, partially due to Covid-19 construction delays in 2020.

Analysts have pointed out that this will likely cause resale prices to continue to creep up in 2025.

Said the minister: "This is a short-term issue, and we expect a steady increase in the number of new flats completing their MOP in the next few years."

He added that some 19,500 flats will reach their MOP in 2028, up from 8,000 in 2025.

More than 50,000 BTO flats will be rolled out from 2025 to 2027, he said.