PLH projects in Bukit Merah and Queenstown of 867-unit development will comprise 3 and 4 room flats

Two prime locations for a residential public housing (PLH) projects have been announced in the current month of Build-To-Order (BTO) along with Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises. Flats for sale are currently open and are open up to June 2.

The Reserve Residences condo price currently available are revealed by URA in the form of an opening tender.

These two PLH project comprise Bukit Merah Ridge as well as Ghim Moh Ascent. They are the fourth and third projects to launch within the framework of. In a statement on May 27 the Housing and Development Board (HDB) declared that the sales exercise for May comprises 6,535 flats. It has 4,83 BTO flats scattered across five projects , which encompass both mature and non-mature estates. The estates include Bukit Merah Queenstown, Toa Payoh, Jurong West and Yishun. In addition, 1,952 flats were offered as part of the SBF sale exercise.

HDB declares that the projects located in Jurong West and Yishun come with waiting times that are significantly shorter of approximately 3.8 years. Additionally, they are located in non-mature estates that tend to have lower applications rates.

“The high demand for HDB flats for resales and the skyrocketing HDB price for resales led to the Singapore government to substantially increase the number of flats that are being built. This has resulted in the amount of BTO flats being launched in May 2022 is 13.8% higher than that of February 2022.” states Nicholas Mak, head of research and consulting for ERA Realty.

Research conducted by PropNex Realty expects the two PLH projects to have a waiting period of 60 months in contrast, others BTO projects have waiting times between 55 and 39 months.

Upcoming projects
HDB states that it will be able to offer it could be able to offer up to 20% of its PLH plans — the future HDB flats that are constructed in prime areas to be subject to a 10-year minimum occupancy duration (MOP) and in which additional subsidies are to be recouped by the government on their resales the funds offered by the current exercise will be put aside for families who are first timers and the maximum of 2% will be reserved for families with second-time children under the Married Child Priority Scheme. The allocations are equivalent to two-thirds of what is the normal quota.

The typical preferred quotas of other BTO apartments in estates that are mature can be as high as 30% for families who are first-time buyers and three% for second-time families. The lower quoted, according to HDB it will open up greater opportunities for Singaporeans who don’t have relatives in the area to settle in these areas.

Bukit Merah Ridge will be renamed. Bukit Merah project will be known as Bukit Merah Ridge. It is one of the 1,669 developments that will comprise of four and three-room flats. HDB declares that the sale cost (excluding the grant) of a three-room apartment there will be $377,000 and four-room apartments will cost $540,000.

Second PLH project, Ghim Moh Ascent, is situated within Queenstown. The development of 867 units will consist of two- and three-room apartments. The price (excluding grants) of a three-room apartment will be $369,000 . A four-room apartment will cost $511,000. Ghim Moh Ascent will also be located in The Health District @ Queenstown, which HDB claims is an “first-of-its-kind” initiative aimed to improve “the well-being and health of the residents throughout their life phases.”

Huttons Asia expects that the total number of applicants for the two PLH projects could be higher than 10 percent, based on the two earlier launched PLH projects that showed that the subsidy recoveries and the longer timeframe for MOP “are not deterrents… The additional subsidies will make purchasing an apartment in a mature estate simpler. The lengthy completion time is not likely to discourage prospective buyers,” the real estate agency states.

Million-dollar flats located in the area
The most recent PLH projects are situated in estates which have seen multiple million-dollar HDB sales recently. According to the data of ERA in January of this year, there have been 34 HDB flats that were resold in Bukit Merah as well as 52 flats resold in Queenstown which have been sold at a price of one million, or even more. By contrast the era of 28 million dollars, just 28 million HDB flats for resale were sold at Kallang and Whampoa in the area which is where the second PLH project is situated.

“New BTO flats in prime locations are extremely difficult to come across and their long-term potential for investment far exceeds the strict criteria that must be met by the owners of PLH model flats,” says Christine Sun who is the senior vice-president of analysis and research of OrangeTee & Tie. She also says that unsuccessful applicants in the last two PLH model flats could try this time, given that the dates for the launch are fairly close.

In the meantime, ERA Realty’s Mak believes that the government might be attempting to draw buyers to the resales market through the strategically placed BTO plans (in this sales campaign). “Each household who decides to purchase a BTO flat will mean that one less households that will purchase the resale flat. If more buyers are attracted by these BTO developments, this can slow down the HDB price and demand for resales until they reach a more manageable pace of growth.” He says.

Two additional BTO exercises are scheduled to be completed later in the year. This August HDB is expected to offer around 4,900 flats within estates like Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East, Tampines and Woodlands.

In November, an additional 9500 flats will be made available in estates like Bukit Batok Kallang as well as Whampoa, Queenstown and Yishun. But, the amount of flats available in the November sale may change prior to the official launch date. All in all, HDB says it is in the process of launching as many as 23,000 new flats this year.