SINGAPORE - Almost all larger flats in the ongoing Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercises have been oversubscribed just a day after the launch, with the five-room and three-generation units in Ang Mo Kio proving to be the most popular.
As at 5pm on Wednesday, 2,541 applicants were vying for the 372 five-room and three-generation flats at Central Weave @ Ang Mo Kio, despite a selling price of between $713,000 and $877,000.
This translates to around three first-time applicants to each available unit. Second-timers face an even bleaker prospect with more than 82 applicants to each available unit.
The larger Ang Mo Kio flats have drawn more applicants than the four-room flats in the two Bukit Merah BTO projects that fall under the prime location public housing model.
At the Alexandra Vale and Havelock Hillside BTO projects, which sits in the vicinity of Redhill and Tiong Bahru MRT stations, there were 2,465 applicants for the 1,298 four-room flats on offer.
This translates to more than one first-time applicant to each available unit, but the number of applicants is expected to increase in coming days.
The three-room flats, the only other flat type in both projects, drew fewer applicants and are currently still undersubscribed.
Flat owners of both Bukit Merah BTO projects are subject to a 10-year minimum occupation period, and will have to pay 6 per cent of the resale price or valuation, whichever is higher, when they sell their home.
There is a limited supply of five-room flats in central mature towns, the bulk of which is found in BTO projects in the Bidadari estate, which is part of Toa Payoh town.
In other mature towns such as Bishan, Geylang, Kallang/Whampoa and other parts of Toa Payoh, four-room flats are the biggest flat type available in recent BTO projects.
On Tuesday, HDB launched a total of 4,993 BTO flats for sale, spread across seven housing projects in six estates.
There are three projects in non-mature estates - Woodlands, Choa Chua Kang and Jurong East - where at least 95 per cent of the four-room and larger flats and at least 85 per cent of three-room flats are set aside for first-timer families.
Interest was most muted for the Choa Chu Kang BTO project, where there are fewer first-time applicants than the number of available three-room, four-room and five-room flats.
Insurance agent Cindy Ho, 32, who has applied for a five-room flat in the Choa Chu Kang project, is hopeful.
She had been unsuccessful in her previous five applications, which were all in non-mature estates.
"I had expected the waiting time to be around five years, so the shorter time of around 3½ years was a nice surprise. This project seems less popular so I have high hopes for it," she said.
Flat applications will close on Sept 5 at 11.59pm on the HDB flat portal. The flats will be allocated through balloting.
In November, about 9,500 BTO flats will be offered in towns such as Bukit Batok, Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Tengah and Yishun.
HDB said it is on track to launch up to 23,000 new flats this year.
Next February, about 2,900 to 3,900 BTO flats will be offered in Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown and Tengah.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...ts-in-ang-mo-kio-despite-prices-of-up-to-877k
