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SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Tuesday (November 17) released a total of 5,795 apartments for sale under the November 2020 Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise.
Three projects are located in the immature cities of Sembawang and Tengah, as well as four projects in the mature cities of Bishan, Tampines and Toa Payoh (Bidadari).
In addition, HDB has offered 5,220 homes located in various towns and farms, within the framework of the Sale of Balance (SBF) exercise.
READ: Tengah’s Park District to feature Singapore’s first ‘car-free’ city center, apartments to launch in August
CUSTOM FLOORS
Among the new BTO flats, those in Tengah will have a shorter wait time with at least 95 percent of the four-bedroom and larger flats being reserved for first-time families, HDB said in a press release.
Apartments range from two-bedroom Flexi to five-bedroom units to meet the diverse housing needs of first-time traveling families, second-time visiting families, the elderly and singles.
Starting prices for apartments in immature cities range from S $ 92,000 for a two-bedroom Flexi unit in Sembawang to S $ 394,000 for a five-bedroom unit in Tengah, excluding grants.
For mature estates, starting prices range from S $ 121,000 for a two-bedroom Flexi apartment in Bishan to S $ 627,000 for a five-bedroom unit in Toa Payoh (Bidadari), excluding grants.
READ: HDB resale transactions increase 127.3% in Q3 after end of COVID-19 breaker
(Table: HDB)
SENIOR TWO BEDROOM FLEXI APARTMENTS AT BISHAN RIDGES
Among the new developments launched is Bishan Ridges, which will consist of six residential blocks arranged in a staggered fashion to form ridge-shaped patterns, HDB said.
The Bishan Ridges project in Bishan. (Image: HDB)
The development will be bounded by Bishan Street 13 and 14, and along the Kallang River. A total of 1,502 apartments will be available at Bishan Ridges, including 1,222 four-bedroom units.
HDB added that in view of the surrounding elderly care services and facilities, the two-bedroom Flexi flats at Bishan Ridges are offered only to seniors 55 and older on short leases between 15 and 45 years, in five-year increments.
The development will have eco-friendly features such as separate chutes for recyclable waste, regenerative risers to reduce energy consumption, and water design features to clean rainwater.
READ: Farm features will be part of the first HDB houses in the new town of Tengah
Two other new developments are Garden Court @ Tengah and Garden Terrace @ Tengah.
The Garden Terrace @ Tengah project in Tengah. (Image: HDB)
A total of 790 units will be available at Garden Court @ Tengah, while another 789 units will be at Garden Terrace @ Tengah.
According to HDB, Tengah will be the first city to integrate with the surrounding vegetation and biodiversity.
One of the main attractions will be a 5 km long forest corridor, which will be part of the larger network of vegetation connecting the western water catchment area and the central catchment nature reserve.
It is also the first HDB city to have a car-free urban center.
Owners of both developments can also choose to have air conditioning supplied from a centralized cooling system, the first of its kind in Singapore.
HDB said that the cooling of each household unit will come from energy-efficient chillers and that there will be no need to install or maintain outdoor condensing units on the air conditioning shelves.
APARTMENTS AT PRICE WITH GENEROUS SUBSIDIES
The new apartments are priced at a “generous subsidy” considering the location, attributes and prevailing market conditions, HDB said.
“HDB’s prices are considerably lower than the transaction prices of comparable resale apartments in the surrounding area,” he added.
First-time eligible families will also receive up to S $ 80,000 under CPF’s Enhanced Housing Grant (EHG).
Under the grant, buyers could pay prices starting at S $ 12,000 for a two-bedroom Flexi unit, S $ 88,000 for a three-bedroom unit, S $ 200,000 for a four-bedroom unit and S $ 291,000 for a five-bedroom unit.
New families will continue to have priority in the flat allocation. Applicants who wish to live close to their parents or married children in the same BTO project can also submit a joint application under the Multi-Generation Priority Plan.
SALE OF EQUIPPED FLOORS
HDB also released another 5,220 flats in its last SBF fiscal year, most reserved for first-time families.
“They comprise 1,977 two-bedroom Flexi units, 701 three-bedroom units, 1,740 four-bedroom units, 668 five-bedroom units, 120 3Gen units and 14 executive floor units in various cities / properties,” said HDB.
Eligible first-time singles can also apply for a Flexi two-bedroom apartment in immature cities.
About 22 percent of the SBF plans are already completed and the rest are under construction, HDB said.
SBF flats are also subsidized and are priced considerably lower than resale flats in the surrounding area, he added.
(Table: HDB)
The application for the new floors can be made online at HDB InfoWEB between Tuesday and November 23.
BTO’s next release in February next year will offer around 3,500 flats in Bukit Batok, Kallang Whampoa, Tengah, and Toa Payoh.
Another 3,800 new flats will be available next May in Bukit Merah, Geylang, Tengah and Woodlands.
