ST : 3,032 new HDB flats on market

Sep 1, 2010

changes to property rules

3,032 new HDB flats on market

It's the largest single launch ever; five private developer sites for sale

By Joyce Teo

THE largest number of new HDB flats in a single launch was released yesterday, while five sites for private developers were put up for sale by the Government.

The moves to bump up new home supply come a day after measures were unveiled to curb property speculation.

The 3,032 new flats comprise 1,408 build-to-order (BTO) units in Yishun and 1,624 balance homes spread over 10 non-mature towns or estates.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail expects the BTO flats to be five to six times oversubscribed, and says the balance units will be at least eight times oversubscribed.

The supply of balance flats comes from differing sources, including flats left over from earlier BTO exercises.

They are popular with buyers as they have either been completed or have shorter waiting periods, or are in more mature estates, said Mr Ismail.

There are 1,081 four-room balance flats priced from $190,000 to $380,000. The rest are two- to five-roomers and executive units. Prices start from $104,000 to $126,000 for a two-roomer.

The flats are in a range of estates, including Hougang, Punggol and Sengkang.

The BTO flats are in Yishun Riverwalk. The 254 studio apartments will cost $63,000 to $87,000. The rest are three- to five-room flats, with the 652 four-roomers priced at $214,000 to $268,000.

The HDB expects high application rates for the balance homes based on the previous sale, so people will have a greater chance of success if they target a BTO flat. The first sale of balance flats was held last October, with 2,132 units offered.

The launch yesterday brings the total number of new HDB flats offered this year to 12,876. The HDB will offer more than 16,000 new flats this year and up to 22,000 next year.

The private sector was catered for as well yesterday, with one confirmed site placed for sale in Petir Road and four other plots made available if developers are keen. All the sites are near projects that have been launched in the past year or so.

The 2.3ha Petir Road site has a maximum gross floor area of 47,763 sq m and can yield about 430 flats. It is next to the fully sold Tree House, launched in April.

An industry expert said the site may attract bids ranging from about $320 to $355 per sq ft per plot ratio, which works out to $164.5 million to $183 million.

One of the other sites is at the junction of West Coast Link and West Coast Crescent and next to the fully sold The Vision condo, which was launched earlier this year.

An Alexandra Road site is beside Ascentia Sky, which was launched last year, while a plot in Tanah Merah Kechil Road is near Optima@Tanah Merah, which sold out in three days in August last year.

A plot at the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Elias Road is near Oasis@Elias, which was launched last year.

Experts told The Straits Times that while most of these sites are attractive, their sale may not be triggered just yet as the cooling measures would have dampened sentiment.

'Developers will adopt a wait-and-see approach. They will want to observe the responses to the upcoming launches before they act on these land tenders,' said Jones Lang LaSalle's South-east Asia research head Chua Yang Liang.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg