Minister wants to help couples wishing to set up home near parents

Human resources executive Teo Yingying, 25, and her boyfriend James Chen, 26, a project engineer, are hoping for a BTO launch in Tanjong Pagar where she now lives with her parents. Ms Teo is hoping to live near them so that they can help take care of her children, if any, in the future. — ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

ASPIRING home owners can expect to see more build-to-order (BTO) HDB projects launched in mature estates next year, promised National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday.

Announcing this latest policy shift in another blog post, he said: ‘I have asked HDB to look into more mature estates as possibilities.

‘It is too late to prepare suitable sites for this year, but we should be able to put up some for next year’s BTO.’

He said that his ministry has been ‘rather reluctant’ to launch BTO in mature estates as it was worried that such popular launches would attract high subscription rates, ‘further alarming the market’.

‘While this is a valid concern, I believe that Singaporeans will understand that mature estates will always attract very high subscription,’ he said.

‘We should not be daunted by such a prospect, but should instead try to meet the aspirations of many young couples wanting to set up nests near their parents. Our response should be to put up more sites in mature estates, even as we ramp up BTO launches elsewhere.’

Mr Khaw added that it will be inevitable that some of these new sites will be near existing residential blocks, and he hoped residents will bear with the construction while works are under way.

The blog, titled Making a Calculated Move, was his third since last Thursday.

Like the other two – as well as his recent comments – it showed the determination of the new National Development Minister to address areas in housing which are causing unhappiness to various segments of Singaporeans.

Last Friday, he spoke of speeding up the construction of new flats and raising the number of BTO units from 22,000 to 25,000 this year. At a forum with youth on Sunday, he said that more rental flats must be built for lower-income families.

Under the BTO system launched in 2002, the HDB builds flats in response to demand for them.

In his latest post, Mr Khaw noted that the current BTO launch for 4,000 new units in four towns was under way. So far, there have been about 8,000 applications, and this was within the ministry’s expectation.

Not surprisingly, he said, projects in the mature estate of Tampines are the most popular, with many applying for four- and five-room flats.

He acknowledged that new flats in mature estates are more attractive since many couples living there would like to continue to live close to their parents.

This is a move which the Government supports, and so it has doubled the chances of such couples under the Married Child Priority Scheme.

The current BTO launch in Tampines is also the first one there in recent years, he noted.

He said that young couples eagerly looking for new homes should calculate their chances.

‘My advice to them is to opt for non-mature estates,’ he said.

‘You improve considerably your chance of securing one in the new towns, instead of competing with many others for the popular projects in the mature estates,’ he said, adding ‘good luck friends, and congratulations on your recent or upcoming wedding’.

For years, the Ministry of National Development’s (MND) position has been to focus on launching new flats in non-mature estates such as Punggol and Sengkang .

Last year, former national development minister Mah Bow Tan said that land in mature estates was limited and the mainstay of BTO supply will still be in outlying estates.

Launches in mature estates have proven to be wildly popular.

In 2009, 1,718 BTO flats in Queenstown – namely, SkyVille@Dawson and SkyTerrace@Dawson – received over 10,000 subscriptions, or 12 buyers for some units in the estate.

In 2007, 400 flats in Telok Blangah Towers were oversubscribed nearly 20 times, with 7,970 applications.

Mature estates usually have more established infrastructure such as recreational and educational facilities and well-connected transport links.

In such areas, land for building new flats is limited and flats built are generally snapped up quickly.

Dennis Wee Group director Chris Koh said that these projects are also likely to be smaller in size given the limited land.

He added that flats could be built at the perimeter of mature estates.

Mr Colin Tan, research and consultancy director at real estate firm Chesterton Suntec International, said HDB can overcome such size limitations by building taller blocks and increasing the population density.

Mr Khaw’s latest announcement gives hope to buyers like human resources executive Teo Yingying, 25, who has applied for a BTO flat with her boyfriend five times with no success. She is hoping for a BTO launch in Tanjong Pagar where she now lives with her parents.

‘I want to be near my parents. If we ever have children, my parents can help me take care of them when we’re working,’ she said.

MND said that it is studying suitable sites and more information will be released later this year.

Source: Straits Times, 31st May 2011

New recreational areas, parks and more public transport services for residents are also in store, says MP

Couples hoping to get their first homes through build-to-order (BTO) flats can look forward to an additional 4,000 units that will be coming up in Zhenghua in the next few years, said Mr Liang Eng Hwa, an MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

With more flats in the Bukit Panjang area, residents can also expect new amenities and more public transport services, added Mr Liang, who oversees the Zhenghua ward.

Last Friday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan wrote in his blog that he had told the Housing Board to build flats ahead of demand.

Agreeing with Mr Khaw, Mr Liang said young couples have told him that they would like to get their flats early.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a completion ceremony for Segar Meadows, a newly completed BTO project in Segar Road. It was the first post-general election completion ceremony for BTO flats.

The event saw Mr Liang and fellow Holland-Bukit Timah GRC MP Vivian Balakrishnan hand over keys to 20 families who bought units in Block 456, the final block to be completed.

There were exhibition booths set up by various agencies to create awareness of matters relevant to new residents, such as how to be good neighbours.

Besides the new BTO flats, Mr Liang said, there will be new recreational areas and parks for residents.

‘We don’t just want concrete blocks, we want some green spaces too,’ he said.

First-time home owner Frederick Toh said he waited four years from the time he successfully balloted for his flat to collect his keys.

The engineering designer, who hopes to move into his four-room flat by the end of next month, said not having his own space delayed him from having children.

This is why the waiting time for flats should be shortened to two years, reckoned Mr Toh, who has a 16-month-old son, Tristan, with his wife Criscelia Lim, 28.

After getting married in 2005, the couple stayed in two locations – his parents’ Yishun flat and his in-laws’ Bukit Panjang flat.

At least three BTO projects in Bukit Panjang are due to be completed over the next few years. They are the 528-unit Segar Grove in Segar Road, the 741-unit Senja Gateway in Woodlands Road, and the 577-unit Senja Parc View in Senja Road.

Source: Straits Times, 29th May 2011

Pent-up demand will ease and property prices should fall, say analysts

BUILDING more HDB flats, and doing so more quickly, will help ease pent-up demand and may also eventually reduce home prices, say property analysts.

They also believe the impact of building 3,000 more new HDB flats this year could cascade right through the market, affecting both HDB and private homes.

They say the additional new flats, and the move to cut waiting times, would help ease pent-up buying demand.

These analysts also anticipate a softening of prices for resale flats and even mass market private homes.

They note that recent build-to-order (BTO) HDB projects had been oversubscribed, sometimes by as much as seven times the number of flats on offer.

The flood of new homes could mean buyers who had been looking at resale HDB flats would turn to new flats.

‘Those who have been looking to the resale market because they didn’t want to wait for a BTO flat, they might shift their focus back. Especially with the easing of the income ceiling, it would also change the minds of some people,’ said Ms Chua Chor Hoon, DTZ head of South-east Asia research. The Government has flagged a move to ease the $8,000 a month income ceiling for buying new flats.

Associate Professor Sing Tien Foo, of the National University of Singapore’s department of real estate, said the knock-on effect of the new supply might not be confined to just resale HDB flats.

Some buyers now looking at private mass market homes might switch their attention to resale HDB homes.

‘Both the public and the private housing sectors are interlinked. So it’s not just mass market. Prime property could also be affected,’ said Ms Chua.

‘I expect prices to soften slightly but it will be a gradual movement. Cash over valuation (COV) will be hit first, and once it moves down even further, then prices will eventually be hit as well,’ she said.

Any price effects will take at least two to three years to filter through, said Prof Sing. It will take some time for the public sector to absorb the pent-up demand.

The additional 3,000 new HDB flats to be launched this year will make a total of 25,000 new flats. If this pace of building continues, it will signify the launch of a large supply of new public homes in the next few years. Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said that this would help ease the immediate shortage but would also coincide with the anticipated oversupply of private homes expected to hit the market within that same period: ‘This could become an issue if it becomes a reality.’

Prof Sing agreed on this point: ‘It depends on exactly how much pent-up demand is in the market. But it won’t be difficult for the HDB to predict because they would have numbers on how many people are in the queue.’

But he said sizing up the actual demand could be more complicated.

‘Even though projects have been oversubscribed, there have also been a lot of people who have rejected the chance to select a new flat. You have to look at what is the effective take-up rate as well.’

Some market experts say the move to provide more new homes might result in a muted response.

Dennis Wee Group director Chris Koh said although it will ‘solve some unhappiness’, buyers who look to the resale market have different needs from those looking at snagging a new flat.

‘There will be some who are sitting on the fence who will be convinced to choose BTOs but there will always be those who will definitely stick to the resale market,’ he said.

Source: Straits Times, 28th May 2011

HDB launches largest batch of BTO units

THE single largest batch of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats ever offered by the Housing Board (HDB) was launched yesterday.

Nearly 4,000 new flats in six projects have been launched in Pasir Ris, Punggol, Tampines and Woodlands. Many are close to MRT stations and other facilities.

At least 95 per cent of the flats will be set aside for first-time buyers.

The latest offering of 3,957 flats lifts the total number of BTO flats launched in the first five months of this year to 12,000. The latest batch easily surpasses the 3,185 launched last month.

HDB is offering a wide range of flats for all budgets.

First-time buyers will be allowed to take advantage of the existing grants such as the Additional Central Provident Fund (CPF) Housing Grant.

Some buyers are also entitled to the Special CPF Housing Grant – only applicable when purchasing a three-room standard flat in Punggol Parcvista and Woodlands Peak.

Excluding grants, studio apartments will start from $76,000, three-room flats start from $166,000 and five-room units from $335,000.

The largest number of flats among the latest batch are four-roomers – 1,630 – while two-roomers are the fewest, at 353.

PropNex corporate communications manager Adam Tan said the move shows the Government has ‘responded to the public’s demand for affordable housing’.

‘All the estates are rather well-developed and should see a huge take-up rate from potential buyers,’ he added.

Mr Tan expects an oversubscription of the flats on offer as the BTO flats are being sold at lower prices than similar resale flats in those areas.

‘The three-room flats in Tampines GreenLeaf and Tampines GreenWood, for example, are a whopping 35 per cent cheaper than resale flats in that town and should therefore be very popular with first-time buyers with a tight budget.’

The names of the projects are Costa Ris and Golden Lily in Pasir Ris, Punggol Parcvista, Tampines GreenLeaf, Tampines GreenWood and Woodlands Peak.

Applications can be lodged online until next Thursday.

Source: Straits Times, 28th May 2011

Oversubscription rate highest for Punggol among four projects

WATERFRONT living in Punggol proved the most irresistible when applications closed yesterday for four build-to-order (BTO) projects.

All in, there were 9,747 applications for the 3,185 flats on offer – in Sembawang, Hougang, Sengkang and Punggol West – in the largest supply of BTO flats since 2002.

The oversubscription rate was three times.

But at Waterway Terraces II in Punggol West, the five-room and four-room premium flats, which have better-quality finishes like glazed ceramic floor tiles, registered oversubscription rates of seven and six times respectively.

The five-room units cost from $400,000 to $484,000 while the four-room units cost from $307,000 to $390,000.

Least in demand were the two-room flats at Montreal Ville in Sembawang that were sold under the standard contract, which means minimal fittings.

There were only 78 applications for the 105 units, priced from $92,000 to $116,000.

A majority of BTO flats are set aside for first-time households and are built after enough eligible buyers register interest.

PropNex spokesman Adam Tan said he was not surprised by the popularity of Waterway Terraces II, given the Government’s efforts to redevelop Punggol.

Punggol was part of the first Remaking Our Heartland programme unveiled in 2007, and waterfront parks, cycling paths and designer Housing Board blocks are being developed.

Earlier this year, the $16.7 million Punggol Promenade on the Serangoon Reservoir bank was launched.

Mr Tan said: ‘People will gladly pay the premium as waterfront living is fast becoming a status symbol.’

In a press statement released yesterday, HDB said the higher interest from flat buyers for Waterway Terraces II was expected due to its good location and award-winning design.

The project, which has 804 units, has a Green Mark Platinum Award for incorporating eco-friendly features such as solar power and a facade designed to minimise heat. The award is the highest accolade for green buildings in Singapore, which is given by the Building and Construction Authority.

Besides these projects, HDB also announced recently that 6,070 more flats would be offered next month.

This brings the total BTO supply to 14,100 for the first half of the year.

The board said a total of 22,000 flats are slated to be sold this year if demand persists.

Last year, a total of 16,100 BTO flats were offered, up from 9,000 in the year before.

One hopeful applicant is Mr James Lim, 24.

The engineer said: ‘Although there are more flats now, the high subscription rates still mean it’s a tough road to take to get my dream home.’

Ballot results for the flats will be released this month.

Source: Straits Times, 2nd May 2011

3,185 new homes launched, with 6,070 more on the way

The flats in the 804-unit Waterway Terraces II (above) along Punggol Walk and 1,011-unit Anchorvale Cove near Sengkang’s Farmway LRT station – two of the four projects launched yesterday – will come with quality finishes such as glazed porcelain ceramic tiles. The other two BTO projects, standard ones with minimal fittings, are in Hougang and Sembawang. — PHOTOS: HDB

A BUMPER crop of new homes are in the pipeline, even as latest figures show that housing prices rose at a slower pace in the first three months of the year.

The Housing Board (HDB) will roll out 3,185 build-to-order (BTO) flats in Hougang, Sembawang, Sengkang and Punggol – its biggest launch since 2002.

It also unveiled plans to release another 6,070 BTO flats in the next two months, bringing the number of flats launched in the first six months of the year to 14,100 – within the Government’s promise to offer up to 22,000 new flats this year.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday said 68,887 homes in the private housing market are in the works, the most since the URA began keeping records in 1999.

Of these, half – or 34,266 units – remain unsold, which works out to three years’ supply of homes, based on an average take-up of about 11,400 units a year over the last three years, it said.

Analysts see the steady entry of new homes into the market as evidence of the Government’s efforts to stem the tide of rising home prices.

HDB resale prices rose 14.1 per cent last year and another 1.6 per cent between January and March; private home prices gained 17.6 per cent last year and a further 2.2 per cent in the first quarter.

Mr Colin Tan, the research and consultancy director at real estate firm Chesterton Suntec International, said injecting supply has always been the weapon of choice when the market needs stabilising, followed by cooling measures where necessary.

PropNex spokesman Adam Tan added that the upcoming supply of new BTO flats would be a salve for first-time buyers, who find themselves priced out of the market for resale flats.

He noted that the demand for such flats, which are built only after eligible buyers register sufficient interest, is ‘clearly there’, going by how the last few launches of BTO flats have pulled in more applicants than the number of flats available.

HDB has raised the BTO flat supply, hiking the number of new units from about 9,000 in 2009 to 16,100 last year.

Its announcement of a fresh infusion of new homes comes amid a pre-General Election debate on the affordability of housing to first-time buyers; the Workers’ Party and National Solidarity Party have taken on National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan on the subject.

In the four BTO projects launched yesterday, 95 per cent of the units available will be set aside for first-timers. Applications for these flats end on Sunday.

Of the four projects, the units in two will come with quality finishes such as glazed porcelain ceramic tiles.

These are the 1,011-unit Anchorvale Cove near Sengkang’s Farmway LRT station and the 804-unit Waterway Terraces II along Punggol Walk. Unit prices range from $179,000 to $484,000.

The other two BTO projects, standard ones with minimal fittings, are the 792-unit Hougang Parkview in Upper Serangoon Crescent, and the 578-unit Montreal Ville next to Sembawang Community Club. These cost between $92,000 and $404,000.

HDB also said its upcoming launches include two projects in Bukit Panjang and a third in Sengkang.

First-time house hunter Tracy Kong, a 23-year-old communications manager, welcomed the news yesterday.

‘Slowly but surely, owning a private property or resale flat will be harder. So it’s time to buckle down and get a BTO – and be prepared for the wait,’ she said.

But analysts like DTZ’s Chua Chor Hoon are concerned over a possible oversupply down the road, especially of private homes.

Owners may plan to resell these homes or rent them out, creating competition for buyers and tenants, she said.

‘Supposing there’s another global shock, interest rates are high, all these units coming out- then that’s a matter of concern,’ she said.

darylc@sph.com.sg

Home prices, sales cool in first quarter: MONEY

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WAITING FOR BTO FLAT

‘Slowly but surely, owning a private property or resale flat will be harder. So it’s time to buckle down and get a BTO – and be prepared for the wait.’

Source: Straits Times, 26th April 2011

A total of 1,322 units will be offered in the two projects

THE Housing & Development Board has launched two more build-to-order (BTO) projects – Senja Parc View at Bukit Panjang and Anchorvale Horizon at Sengkang.

A total of 1,322 units – comprising 240 studio apartments, 112 two-room flats, 112 three-room flats, 710 four-room flats and 148 five-room flats – will be offered.

Including these, HDB has now offered 15,527 new flats for sale under the BTO and sale of balance flat exercise this year.

And in the first quarter of next year, it will launch about 5,000 BTO flats as part of the supply of 22,000 new flats planned for 2011.

The upcoming BTO projects will have a good geographic spread, in towns such as Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Sengkang and Yishun, HDB said yesterday.

Apartments at the 577-unit Senja Parc View, which is bounded by Senja Road and Kranji Expressway, are priced at $86,000 to $119,000 for a two-room flat; $149,000 to $191,000 for a three-room flat; and $242,000 to $312,000 for a four-room flat.

Flats at the 745-unit Anchorvale Horizon, located at the junction of Anchorvale Road and Sengkang East Way, are pricier as they are ‘premium’ flats.

Units there will sell for $75,000 to $104,000 for a studio apartment; $277,000 to $344,000 for a four-room flat; and $344,000 to $426,000 for a five-room flat.

HDB estimates that first-time flat buyers will use 17 to 27 per cent of their monthly household income to meet their monthly loan payments for flats in Senja Parc View and Anchorvale Horizon.

Market watchers expect Anchorvale Horizon to be more popular.

‘The immediate area around Anchorvale Horizon is more developed than the immediate area around Senja Parc View,’ said PropNex corporate communications manager Adam Tan.

He pointed to various sports facilities that will appeal to the younger generation and the connectivity offered by the nearby expressway and LRT stations.

At Senja Parc View, the main attraction is expected to be the low cost of the flats.

Source: Business Times, 27 Oct 2010

Yishun BTO project attracts fewer than three buyers per unit, well below the usual

MEASURES to cool the property market appear to be having an effect going by the lower level of demand for a new build-to-order (BTO) development.

The Yishun Riverwalk project attracted 3,225 applications for 1,408 flats – well below the ratio seen in past BTO launches when up to six times the number of bids were seen for each unit.

Demand for four- and five-room flats – typically more popular – was slightly under three applications for every unit. Four-roomers received 1,608 applications for 652 flats while the 252 five-roomers attracted 718 bids.

But demand was still robust for HDB’s sale of balance flats, which offers homes ready for occupation within months.

The HDB received 10,968 applications for 1,624 homes on offer – almost seven for every flat.

Both sales launches closed yesterday.

Industry analysts say the flatter demand for new flats indicates that the cooling measures introduced two weeks ago have started to bite.

BTO launches held over the past couple of years have attracted up to six applications for every flat.

ERA Asia Pacific associate director Eugene Lim said the lower-than-usual demand could be due to location and the recent measures.

First-timers are likely also returning to the HDB resale market in anticipation of falling prices, he said. These buyers had found themselves priced out of the resale market amid the property boom and flocked to join the queue for new HDB flats.

‘But now buyers are waiting to see if prices will drop. Those who have a need for homes will go to the resale market instead of queueing for a new flat which takes three years to build,’ said Mr Lim.

Robust application numbers also do not necessarily translate into actual demand.

The HDB said recently that despite an overwhelming number of applications for landmark projects at Dawson, first-time buyers have been dropping out. It said that 23 per cent of first-time applicants did not select flats even though they were invited to.

The dropout rate was even higher on the first day of the selection process, with 25 per cent of first-timers declining the opportunity to secure a unit. The main reason given was that their choice of unit had been sold or they wanted to ‘reconsider other housing options’.

Demand could drop further given the ample choice of homes as the HDB boosts supply.

Meanwhile, a residential site at Bedok Reservoir Crescent will be launched for sale today under the HDB’s design, build and sell scheme (DBSS).

The site, which is near established amenities, has a gross floor area of 502,362 sq ft that could yield 430 homes. The tender closes on Nov 2.

Under the DBSS, private developers build public housing flats that come with condo-like finishes.

More buyers are also eligible for DBSS flats after the Government recently lifted the $8,000 monthly income ceiling for such buyers to $10,000.

Source: Straits Times, 14 Sep 2010

Offer includes 1,408 Build-to-Order flats in Yishun Riverwalk

THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) is offering 3,032 flats for sale – the largest supply of flats in a single launch this year – under its Build-to-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise.

This brings the total number of flats launched by HDB since the start of this year to 12,876.

The latest launch comprises 1,408 new flats in Yishun Riverwalk under the BTO system and 1,624 flats under the SBF exercise spread across 10 non-mature towns or estates in Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Jurong East/ West, Punggol, Sembawang, Sengkang and Woodlands.

Selling prices of the flats at Yishun Riverwalk range from $63,000-$87,000 for a studio apartment to $287,000-$350,000 for a 5-room flat, while the selling prices of flats under SBF exercise range from $104,000-$126,000 for a 2-room flat to $354,000- $482,000 for an executive flat.

HDB said that all flats offered in this launch enjoy a generous subsidy below their market value. It advised flat buyers to ‘exercise financial prudence and buy a flat that they can afford’ and that those looking for affordable options can consider the BTO flats at Yishun Riverwalk.

For flats purchased in Yishun Riverwalk, first-time flat buyers are estimated to use 21-24 per cent of their monthly household income to meet their monthly loan payments.

PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail noted that the median price of the flats offered at Yishun Riverwalk are ‘extremely attractive’. Based on HDB’s second quarter figures, 3-room flats at Yishun Riverwalk are priced about 39 per cent lower than similar flats in the estate, while 4- and 5-room flats are about 21 to 23 per cent cheaper.

The provision of lifestyle amenities at Yishun Riverwalk and its proximity to public transport makes the BTO flats all the more attractive for first-time buyers, he said.

‘Despite the measures announced by HDB yesterday to curtail speculative flipping, the demand for these flats will still be high as the buyers’ profile is such that the new measures would have little effect on them,’ Mr Ismail added.

As demand for public housing remains high, Mr Ismail said he expects the oversubscription rate for the BTO to be around five to six times. He expects the flats under SBF exercise to be at least eight times oversubscribed, especially for flats that are already completed, have a shorter waiting period or are in more matured estates.

HDB had said that it will increase the total new flat supply to more than 16,000 new flats this year. The next launch will consist of 1,320 flats in Woodlands this month.

The BTO supply will also be supplemented by the upcoming 3,824 units under the Design, Build & Sell Scheme (DBSS) and Executive Condominium Scheme to provide choices for higher-income households, HDB said.

It added that it is prepared to launch more sites for DBSS development if there is sustained demand.

Source: Business Times, 1 Sep 2010

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

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.

Source: Straits Times, 1 Sep 2010