October 2023 BTO exercise sees underwhelming response

Applications for the October 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise will close at 11.59pm on Oct 10. HDB data as of 5pm on Oct 10 show that 9,848 applications have been received for the 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.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia notes a generally underwhelming response to the exercise, compared to past exercises with higher flat availability such as the February 2023 BTO exercise which had witnessed 16,000 applicants and the May 2023 BTO exercise with 20,000 applicants.

With its convenient location and diverse range of shops, Tengah Plantation EC residents can easily visit this mall and enjoy its attractions.

The current BTO exercise has seen a newly introduced penalty for non-selection of flats kick in, which could explain the lower submissions. This penalty sees first-timers that reject their chance to book a flat when invited to do so being considered second-timers 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.

Some buyers could also be waiting for the December 2023 BTO exercise, which will see flats at Sin Ming in Bishan and Alexandra Vale in Bukit Merah put up for sale, suggests Lee.

With the applications submitted as of 5pm on Oct 10, the overall BTO application rate stands at 1.4 times, “possibly one of the lowest BTO application rates in recent years” notes Ismali Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty. Last time overall BTO application rates fell below 2 times was in November 2017 when the application rate came in at 1.7 times for the 4,829 flats launched at the time.

Gafoor notes that the October BTO projects in Tengah (Plantation Edge I &II) saw the highest subscription rate of 2.1 times. The flats are located right in front of the future Tengah Park MRT Station on the Jurong Region Line which will open in 2028, driving demand for the location.

The flats at the Choa Chu Kang project (Rail Green I & II) achieved the second-highest overall application rate of about 1.6 times for the 1,895 flats launched for sale, though still lower compared to the last Choa Chu Kang BTO project launched in the August 2022 BTO exercise (Keat Hong Grange) which garnered an overall application rate of 2.4 times.

Meanwhile, the projects in the mature estates saw a more muted response. The Kallang-Whampoa projects, including the 1,143-unit Verandah @ Kallang PLH project, got an overall application rate of about 1.3 times for the 2,922 flats launched. The 973-unit Tanglin Halt Cascadia PLH project 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. Five-room flats stand at about 1.6 times, while three-room flats range from 0.2 to 0.8 times.

Applications for the October 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise are closing at 11.59pm on Oct 10. HDB data shows that at 5pm, 9,848 applications have been received for the 6,800 flats up for sale across six projects.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia notes a generally underwhelming response to the exercise, in comparison to past exercises with higher flat availability such as the February 2023 BTO exercise which had seen 16,000 applicants and the May 2023 BTO exercise with 20,000 applicants.

Penalties for non-selection of flats could explain the lower submissions. First-timers that reject their chance to book a flat when invited to do so are considered second-timers with lower priority for a year. In addition, some buyers could also be waiting for the December 2023 BTO exercise, which will see flats at Sin Ming in Bishan and Alexandra Vale in Bukit Merah put up for sale.

Ismali Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, notes that the October BTO projects in Tengah (Plantation Edge I &II) saw the highest subscription rate of 2.1 times. This can be attributed to the five-room flats, the shorter waiting times of 3 to 3.3 years, and the project’s location right in front of the future Tengah Park MRT Station.

The Choa Chu Kang project (Rail Green I & II) got an overall application rate of 1.6 times for the 1,895 flats launched, lower than the 2.4 times of the last Choa Chu Kang BTO project in the August 2022 BTO exercise.

Meanwhile, the projects in the mature estates saw a more muted response. The Kallang-Whampoa projects, including the 1,143-unit Verandah @ Kallang PLH project, got an overall application rate of 1.3 times. The 973-unit Tanglin Halt Cascadia PLH project observed a more measured application rate of 1.1 times.

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