2,520 BTO flats with waits of around three years to go on sale in June

SINGAPORE – A total of 2,520 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats with waits of around three years will be offered in the upcoming June sales exercise across three projects in Sembawang and Ang Mo Kio.

These flats will make up more than a third of about 6,900 flats that will be launched in the upcoming exercise, the Housing Board said on June 7.

Of the three developments, the two in the new Sembawang North estate come with shorter waits of less than three years. The third project in Ang Mo Kio will have a wait of three years and one month.

HDB said to offer flats with shorter wait times, it works closely with other government agencies to plan early and prioritise certain project sites.

“This enables us to bring forward the design and planning process, so that construction can commence even before the project is launched for sale,” it said.

When flat applicants book a unit in such projects, construction would already be well under way.

It did not reveal the date of the June sales exercise.

Sembawang Portico, one of the projects in the Sembawang North neighbourhood, will have a wait of two years and seven months – the shortest in the upcoming launch.

It will have 875 units of two-room flexi, as well as three-, four- and five-room flats on a site in Admiralty Lane and Sembawang Drive. One of the three blocks will be integrated with rental flats.

The other project, Sembawang Brook, has a wait of two years and nine months.

An artist’s impression of Sembawang Brook. It is located across the road from Sembawang Portico, and will have 1,160 units of two-room flexi; three-, four- and five-room; and three-generation flats.

PHOTO: HDB

It is located across the road from Sembawang Portico, and will have 1,160 units of two-room flexi; three-, four- and five-room; and three-generation flats. The plot is bounded by Admiralty Street and Sungei Sembawang, and the project will have five blocks, including one with rental flats.

Property analysts previously said the projects could see moderate demand as they are not situated near any MRT station and there is a lack of amenities nearby. The nearest station, Sembawang, is a 15- to 20-minute walk away.

HDB said on June 7 that future residents of the two projects will get earlier access to amenities such as cooked food, childcare centres, minimart and bus services, which will be available about six months after the first batch of residents collect the keys to their flats.

Typically, HDB shops start operating about nine months after the first batch of residents collect their keys. It can take three months for bus services to start, and more than a year for childcare centres to be set up.

These are part of new measures by a multi-agency committee set up to ease inconveniences for residents moving into new BTO flats.

In Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, Kebun Baru Ridge will have a wait of three years and one month.

The project offers 485 units of three- and four-room flats across three blocks, as well as a minimart and an eatery. It is about a 10- to 15-minute walk from Mayflower MRT station.

In the upcoming sales exercise, four other projects will be on offer in Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Bukit Merah and Woodlands.