5,000 BTO flats to go on sale in Feb

A third Build-To-Order (BTO) project in Tanjong Rhu and a 1,500-unit development in Woodlands located near the sea are among five projects that will go on sale in February 2025.

Two projects in Chencharu, an up-and-coming HDB residential area in Yishun, and flats in Mei Chin Road in Queenstown will also be on offer.

The Housing Board on Oct 16 released details on its website of five projects that will be launched in the first BTO sales exercise of 2025.

It will offer about 5,000 flats in Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Woodlands and Yishun.

The project in Tanjong Rhu – an area which falls under Kallang/Whampoa – will have about 800 units of two-room flexi, three- and four-room flats on a plot near the Geylang River.

Located in Tanjong Rhu Road, the project is near Dunman High School and two MRT stations – Tanjong Rhu and Katong Park on the Thomson-East Coast Line. Stadium and Mountbatten stations on the Circle Line are also in the vicinity.

Property analysts expect the project, which will likely fall under the Prime category, to be popular, given its attractive location near the city centre.

Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, said flats there could have panoramic views of Geylang River and Singapore Sports Hub, as well as Marina East.

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at property firm Huttons Asia, said application rates could be high for this project as those who were unsuccessful in two previous projects in the area could try their hand at applying again.

Two BTO projects closer to the Geylang River, Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II in Kampong Arang Road, were launched in June.

The four-room flats in these prime location public housing model projects were oversubscribed, with two first-time applicants gunning for each unit, but three-room units were undersubscribed.

The plots for these projects are among three sites that were re-parcelled and had their plot ratios increased in an amendment to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) masterplan published in August 2023.

Mr Lee said the site along Tanjong Rhu Road and East Coast Parkway, where February’s project is located, were parceled into two, citing URA’s masterplan. So, there could be one more residential project in the area.

BTO units closer to amenities like MRT stations and town centres will fall under the Prime and Plus categories, with the new flat classification system rolled out in October.

These flats will come with stricter resale conditions such as a 10-year minimum occupation period and a subsidy clawback, which came between 6 and 9 per cent in October’s sales exercise.

In Queenstown, the site along Mei Chin Road will house 1,110 two-room flexi, three- and four-room flats. It is about a 10-minute walk from Queenstown MRT station.

Analysts said the project could fall under either the Plus or Prime category as there are many amenities in the area such as Ikea, Anchorpoint mall and Queensway Shopping Centre.

This plot was previously occupied by the former Mei Chin Secondary and Primary schools, which were demolished by the HDB between 2022 and 2023.

Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm OrangeTee Group, said: “The location is near downtown areas like Orchard and Harbourfront, and many may find it convenient to live there if they work in Mapletree, Media Circle, Buona Vista and the central business district.”

She expects demand from singles as there are 450 two-room flexi flats on offer in this development, the largest number of such flats in a project in February’s sales exercise.

A 1,540-unit project in Woodlands, comprising two-room flexi, three-, four- and five-room flats, will be built along Admiralty Road.

The development is near the sea and Woodlands Checkpoint, as well as parks such as Admiralty Park and Woodlands Waterfront Park.

Ms Sun said the project, which could be a Standard one, is within walking distance of Woodlands North MRT station and some units may get sea views.

The upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link station in Woodlands North, which is slated for completion by the end of 2026, could also draw buyers to this project, added Ms Wong.

Two BTO projects in Chencharu in Yishun will have a combined 1,510 units. There are two-room flexi, three-, four- and five-room flats across the two plots, which are separated by Bah Soon Pah Road.

The larger 840-unit project that is bounded by Sembawang Road will have amenities such as an eating house, supermarket, a pre-school and a residents’ network centre.

The other 670-unit project will be along Chencharu Link, a new bus-only road, and is closer to Khatib MRT station.

Ms Wong said the Chencharu projects, which she expects will fall under the Standard category, will be within walking distance of an upcoming integrated development with a hawker centre and bus interchange in Chencharu Close.

“What applicants should note, however, is that these Yishun BTO projects are near to the Sembawang Air Base, and there may be potential noise concerns,” she added.

The authorities had pledged to launch 100,000 BTO flats from 2021 to 2025.

In 2024, 19,637 flats were released for sale. To reach the 100,000-flat goal, about 17,300 flats would have to be rolled out in 2025.