Inaugural sale of unsold HDB flats oversubscribed
Public looking at the BTO flat model at HDB Hub. The first batch of unsold public housing units from past Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises that were put up for sale again was highly oversubscribed on Monday (Aug 7), 2017. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — The first batch of unsold public housing units from past Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises that were put up for sale again was highly oversubscribed when it closed at 5pm on Monday (Aug 7), with 5,587 applicants vying for 1,394 units.
Almost half of the interested buyers — or 2,647 — are first-time applicants, while another 2,175 are second-time applicants. The rest include singles as well as seniors who have applied for a public housing flat at least twice previously.
Under this new Re-Offer of Balance Flats (ROF) exercise launched by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Aug 1, there were a variety of units on sale.
They included 110 two-room flats from the Flexi Scheme for Singaporeans aged 55 and older, 384 three-room flats, 624 four-roomers, 260 five-roomers, seven “three-generation” units and nine executive flats.
These apartments are located in 26 housing estates, including Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Clementi, Hougang, Serangoon and Woodlands.
When the sale was announced, the HDB said this re-release of unsold flats would help those with more urgent housing needs, and/or those who are less particular about location and attributes, to quickly get a flat.
Property experts interviewed by TODAY said that they expected robust demand for these flats because past applicants may not have been able to get homes previously through the other modes of sale by the HDB, namely the Build-To-Order (BTO) or SBF exercises.
Mr Chris Koh, director of property firm Chris International, said the SBF exercises always receive more applications than BTO exercises.
“Now we introduce the ROF ... if I was not successful in my last BTO or Sale of Balance flats (bid), I will go in for this one again because some of the flats are, maybe, in good locations or some are available in a shorter period of time (compared to BTO flats where you have to wait longer),” he added.
Mr Ku Swee Yong, chief executive of International Property Advisor, noted that 70 per cent of the flats under the ROF exercise are “ready”.
“It is probably indicative that there are some families whose needs are (a) little bit more urgent and they can’t wait for four years (for a flat),” he added.
In the latest BTO sales launch that also opened on Aug 1 and closed on Monday, there is keen interest among buyers as well, with 6,187 applicants vying for 3,897 new flats.
They comprised 1,397 apartments located in two Bukit Batok projects (Sky Vista and West Scape) and 2,500 units in Sengkang (Rivervale Shores).
On offer were two-room Flexi flats, as well as three- to five-room flats.
Four-roomers at West Scape in Bukit Batok are the most highly subscribed, with 771 applicants for 340 units.
Commenting on the surge of interest there, Mr Wong Xian Yang, head of research and consultancy at real estate firm OrangeTee, put it down to Jurong being a neighbouring area that is due to be revitalised into a new regional centre by the authorities.
“(It) could be mainly due to the redevelopment of the Jurong Lake District where the high speed rail is (going to be) ... so that could be one reason why there’s more demand at Bukit Batok,” he said.
Mr Koh from Chris International also pointed out that there has been no BTO sales launch in Bukit Batok for “a long while” — the last one was in February last year — so it would especially attract those living in the vicinity or those who want to get a home close to their parents who are living near Bukit Batok.
