TODAY ONLINE : Why they are so hot ...

Why they are so hot ...

05:55 AM Mar 30, 2010

by Esther Ng

SINGAPORE - It has "blossomed" into an estate with many amenities such as a wet market, the MRT and Compass Point.

As such, applications for the 126 five-room units of a Built-To-Order (BTO) project, Fernvale Ridge in Sengkang, have been 10 times oversubscribed.

The flats - priced at between $281,000 and $352,000 - attracted 1,260 applications.

Also oversubscribed - five times - were the four-room flats, priced between $212,000 and $268,000, at River Lodge, another BTO project, in Sembawang.

Property agents MediaCorp spoke to were not surprised, pointing out that first-timers, usually young couples, have been priced out of the resale market.

"Permanent residents who have become Singaporeans are in the resale and direct HDB market, and young couples looking to buy a home cannot afford to pay high cash-over-valuation, so they have no choice but to turn to BTO," said Mr Jack Palanisamy.

With Sengkang, however, the attraction among home buyers is that while itis a young estate, it now offers manyamenities, he said.

Another agent, Mr G Rajan, agreed. Earlier BTO projects in the area - Fernvale Court, Fernvale Palm, Fernvale Residence, Fernvale Crest, Fernvale Vista - also found ready buyers. Another reason for their interest is the prices. BTO flats are more affordable as a four-room flat in a mature estate is now going for more than $400,000, he said.

At 5pm yesterday, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) had received 3,359 applications for Fernvale Ridge and 1,465 for Sembawang River Lodge.

The HDB said it had expected strong interest for flats in these two BTOs as the "projects are attractively priced below their equivalent market value".

Applications closed at midnight.

Last December, five-room units at SkyVille@Dawson and SkyTerrace@Dawson, in Queenstown, another BTO project, were 11.9 times oversubscribed with 2,090 applications received for 176 flats.

Next month, the HDB will launch 1,200 BTO flats in Punggol.



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