SINGAPORE – The Housing Board has launched 6,938 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats for sale across eight projects in Jurong East, Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Tampines, Woodlands and Yishun.
HDB also announced it would increase the subsidies for three projects launched on June 19 under the prime location public housing (PLH) model. This is to “keep the flats affordable for a wider range of Singaporeans”, the agency said, without specifying the extent of the increase.
The projects are Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II in the mature town of Kallang/Whampoa, as well as Holland Vista in Queenstown.
For fairness, owners of these flats will be subject to a higher subsidy clawback upon the resale of their flats, set at 9 per cent of the resale price or valuation, whichever is higher. This is to correspond to the extent of the extra subsidies offered, said HDB.
The clawback was 6 per cent when the PLH scheme was introduced in 2021 to curb the “lottery effect” of owning flats in prime and central locations. It was raised to 8 per cent from December 2023.
“With these additional subsidies and the substantial market discounts already applied across all BTO flats, the selling prices of these PLH projects will be significantly lower than the transacted prices of comparable resale flats nearby,” HDB said.
There is a 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP) for these flats.
HDB added that one-fifth of the PLH flats will be set aside for families who are applying for flats for the first time, while 2 per cent will be for second-timer families under the married child priority scheme, which allows a married child and his or her parents to live with or close to one another for mutual support.
From the latest BTO sales exercise, young couples eligible for a deferred income assessment scheme can fork out a lower upfront down payment of 2.5 per cent of the flat price, with the remaining 2.5 per cent to be paid when they collect the keys to their flat, HDB said.
The authorities had said that forking out the down payment on a flat can be hard for some young couples who have yet to build up their income, such as students and national servicemen.
The upfront down payment was previously 5 per cent for buyers taking HDB loans and those without a housing loan, and 10 per cent for buyers opting for bank loans.
Half of the flats on offer at the June 19 launch will have waiting times of four years of less, HDB said.
These include 791 flats in Marsiling Peak I in Woodlands, with a wait of two years and 11 months, and 561 flats in Tampines GreenTopaz, with a waiting time of three years and one month.