October 2023 BTO exercise sees underwhelming response

Applications for the October 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise, which sees 6,800 flats up for sale across six projects in Queenstown, Kallang-Whampoa, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah, including two Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) projects, will close at 11.59pm on Oct 10.

According to Huttons Asia’s senior director of data analytics, Lee Sze Teck, response to the exercise has been underwhelming. HDB data as of 5pm on Oct 10 show that 9,848 applications have been received. This is notably lower than the February 2023 BTO exercise, which saw more than 16,000 applicants and the May 2023 BTO exercise, which drew more than 20,000 applicants.

Lee believes the lukewarm demand may be due to the penalties for non-selection of flats that have kicked in with this exercise. For instance, first-timer applicants who reject their chance to book a flat when invited to do so will be considered a second-timer with lower priority for a year. Meanwhile, second-timers who have one non-selection count will have to wait one year before they can apply for a flat again.

Enjoy easy access to West Mall, Junction 10, Greenridge Shopping Centre, Bukit Panjang Plaza, Hillion Mall, and Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub.

Senja Close EC Bukit Panjang offers its residents an array of recreational facilities within the area. Lush greenery in the form of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Dairy Farm Nature Park provide a pleasant escape from urban living, while Bukit Panjang Community Club offers plenty of assets and recreational activities that residents, families, and friends alike can enjoy. There is also a pet-friendly duplex common area located in the development, which provides an ideal space for pet owners to mingle and bond with their pets. Finally, aesthetic features such as rock gardens, bicycle paths, outdoor fitness stations, and meandering streams make this development the perfect place to call home.

Ismali Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, also notes that some buyers may be waiting for the December 2023 BTO exercise, which will see long-awaited flats at Sin Ming in Bishan and Alexandra Vale in Bukit Merah put up for sale.

Based on the applications submitted as of 5pm on Oct 10, the October 2023 BTO exercise has an overall subscription rate of about 1.4 times – one of the lowest BTO application rates in recent years.

According to Gafoor, the two projects in Tengah (Plantation Edge I & II) saw the highest subscription rate of 2.1 times. He attributes this to applicants vying for the five-room flats available, along with the Tengah projects’ shorter waiting times of 3 to 3.3 years. The projects are also located right in front of the future Tengah Park MRT Station on the Jurong Region Line which will open in 2028.

The flats at the Choa Chu Kang project (Rail Green I & II) on the other hand, achieved the second-highest overall application rate of about 1.6 times. Comparing this to the last Choa Chu Kang BTO project put up for sale in the August 2022 BTO exercise (Keat Hong Grange) which garnered an overall application rate of 2.4 times, however, the current rate is still lower.

For the projects in the mature estates, the subscription rate was more muted. The Kallang-Whampoa projects, including Verandah @ Kallang PLH project, got an overall application rate of about 1.3 times. This is much lower than past Kallang-Whampoa projects, such as the Farrer Park Arena project in May 2023 which recorded an application rate of 3.6 times and the Kallang-Whampoa projects in February 2023 (Farrer Park Fields and Rajah Summit) which registered an application rate of 4.7 times.

Meanwhile, the 973-unit Tanglin Halt Cascadia PLH project also observed a more measured application rate of 1.1 times.

Given the lower application rates, Gafoor notes that most first-timers stand a high chance of securing a flat. The first-timer application rate for most projects’ four-room flats ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 times. For five-room flats, the rate stands at about 1.6 times, while three-room flats range from 0.2 to 0.8 times.

Overall, this means that applicants for the October 2023 BTO exercise have better chances of getting their dream home at a reasonable rate.