May 2022 BTO exercise to include two Prime Location Public Housing projects

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - In a Facebook post on May 23, Minister for National Development, Desmond Lee, shared that two Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) projects will be included in the upcoming May 2022 Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise.

See also: Sustainability of Singapore’s housing prices

The PLH framework was rolled out by the government in 2021 balance the scales for public housing projects launched in prime and central locations. The framework is supposed to ensure that such flats in prime locations remain affordable and accessible over time.

In his Facebook post, the minister says that the first two PLH projects launched so far have garnered good response. “We are in the midst of the selection exercise for the first PLH project at Rochor, River Peaks I & II. About 80% of buyers who have been invited for the selection exercise thus far have proceeded to book their flats, higher than the average of 60% for most BTO projects,” says Lee.

The upcoming May 2022 BTO exercise will include 4,500 flats in Bukit Merah, Jurong West, Queenstown, Toa Payoh, and Yishun.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director (research) at Huttons Asia believes that the two upcoming PLH projects could be located at Bukit Merah and Queenstown. “(The resale prices of) some 5-room flats in the vicinity like City Vue @ Henderson and Ghim Moh Valley have exceeded $1 million. There may be more million-dollar flat transactions in the months ahead,” says Hutton’s Lee.

He adds that if the government were to launch two PLH projects in Merah and Queenstown, it would send a signal to the market that there will be affordable BTO flats in these areas and might curb the possibility of more record breaking HDB flat prices. (Find HDB flats for rent or sale with our Singapore HDB directory)

His sentiment is shared by Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research & analytics at OrangeTee & Tie. She says that both neighbourhoods are prime locations and PLH projects there would be highly popular among buyers. Few new HDB flats are also under development in the nearby Bukit Merah and Holland Village areas.

Minister Desmond Lee also mentioned in his post that the government will “continue to offer PLH projects in future sales exercises, if there are available and suitable sites.”

“The popularity of the previous two PLH sites shows that many people are keen to purchase a PLH model flat despite the longer MOP and more stringent selling criteria. Perhaps more supply has been released into the market to meet the growing demand for such flats,’ says Sun.

She says that some young Singaporeans may feel that they have been priced out of the market, especially the ability to purchase a home in the prime districts.