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August BTO launch sees highest application rates for most expensive flats

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

August 18, 2020 4:51 PM SGT

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SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The HDB Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise for August 2020 is expected to close today with over 38,500 applications for the 7,862 BTO flats launched across eight different HDB towns.

Based on application numbers as of 2pm on Tuesday, Aug 18, the BTO project with the highest application rate is the 380-unit Kebun Bahru Edge along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1. The project is a 10-minute walk to the upcoming Mayflower MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, and within 1km to Ai Tong Primary School and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls Primary School.

The overall application rate for five-room flats at Kebun Bahru is 19.6 times, with the application rate from second timers at 168.3 times. The indicative selling price of a four-room flat at Kebun Bahru Edge starts from $423,000, while a five-room is priced from $571,000.

Kebun Bahru Edge comprises 380 flats, and features four- and five-room flats for sale. (Picture: HDB)

“Even though the five-room flats at Kebun Bahru Edge are the most expensive flats in this BTO exercise, buyers were still enticed by the favourable location of this project,” says Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ERA Realty.

Other popular units are the four-room flats at Dakota One with an application rate of 17.8, as well as the five-room flats at Urbanville @ Woodlands that have an application rate of 9.3. Both projects are close to MRT stations, namely Dakota on the Circle Line and Woodlands on the North-South Line.

“Overall, the larger flats garnered higher application rates than the smaller flats, even though the former come with larger price tags. The application rates of five-room flats were higher than that of three-room and four-room flats across all HDB towns except for BTO projects in Tampines,” says Mak.

Dakota One comprises 421 flats with 87 three-flats and 334 four-room flats. (Picture: HDB)

The rising trend of working from home may influence some homebuyers to desire a more spacious living area that could be converted into a home office if needed. It indicates that some home buyers, including first-timers, have larger housing budgets after the government raised the income ceiling for eligible BTO applicants, says Mak.

The five-room flats in the BTO projects in Tampines had the lowest overall application rate of 1.8 times. The projects are Tampines Green Crest, Tampines Green Glade, and Tampines Green Opal.

“Not all BTO projects that are located near to MRT stations garner high application rates. To attract more applicants, the BTO projects need other attributes, such as proximity to popular schools or the CBD,” says Mak.

He adds that this BTO sales launch also shows that larger flats are more popular even among first-time home buyers.

Check out the latest listings near Mayflower MRT Station and Ai Tong Primary School

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