SINGAPORE: The latest Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise in December saw four- and five-room flats in Woodlands and four-room flats in Sin Ming being the most popular among first-timer families. In an exercise held on Monday (Dec 11), the Housing Development Board (HDB) said that the median application rate for first-time applicants for three-room and larger flats was below one as of 5pm on Dec 11.
About four first-time applicants were vying for each of the 260 five-room flats at Urban Rise @ Woodlands, one of two projects in the non-mature estate. It is closer to Woodlands MRT station than the other project, Woodlands Beacon. Across both projects, the first-timer application rate stood at two for the 614 four-room flats on offer. At Sin Ming Residences in Bishan, 2.8 first-time applicants were vying for each of the 627 four-room flats. These are the first new units launched in the area since 1988.
The HDB explained that the higher application rates for these three projects are due to Bishan being a mature estate popular among buyers and the Woodlands projects located near the MRT station and several amenities.
HDB said that the median application rates in the October and December 2023 launches were significantly lower than those from 2020 to 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic, which ranged from two to 6.8. They are also lower than or comparable to pre-pandemic rates of 1.1 to 3.7, a Straits Times article reported.
In a noteworthy development for prospective homeowners, the waiting period for built-to-order (BTO) flats released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in 2023 has reverted to pre-COVID-19 norms, marking a substantial improvement over the last five years.
According to an official statement, approximately 70 per cent of the units launched this year boast waiting periods not exceeding four years. The median waiting period stands at three years and ten months, not only reinstating pre-pandemic levels but surpassing the four-year peak witnessed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
HDB has expressed commitment to sustaining this positive momentum and aims to launch additional units with even shorter waiting periods starting in the upcoming year.
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