Shorter waiting time flats to be launched in Sin Ming and Toa Payoh

Analysts expect healthy demand for both projects due to their location, historical trends and shorter waiting times.

Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, noted that five BTO projects launched in Bishan since August 2020 – including Sin Ming Residences – were oversubscribed with at least three applicants vying for each flat.

Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Singapore, added that resale flats in the town have also been highly sought after, with buyers willing to pay premium prices for them.

Lim said that, for instance, about a quarter of the 376 flats sold in Bishan in 2025 changed hands at at least $1 million, while 46 of the 230 flats sold on the resale market in the first seven months of 2026 crossed the same threshold.

Given that the number of HDB flats in Bishan has grown by about 11 per cent between 1996 and 2025, compared with 67 per cent nationally, said Wong, it is not a surprise that more flats are being added to the town.

“Having a larger resident catchment and greater vibrancy also line up with the Government’s proposed plans to redevelop Bishan town centre into a business and lifestyle hub under the Master Plan 2025,” she said.

Wong added that the new flats could be in the Plus category owing to their city fringe location. She noted that, like Kebun Baru Breeze – a recently-launched Plus project in Ang Mo Kio, the Sin Ming site is not at the doorstep of any MRT station, and is some distance from the town centre.

Plus and Prime flats are typically closer to the city centre, transport nodes and amenities. Owners of such flats must return additional subsidies to HDB when they sell their flats on the resale market for the first time.

Lim, meanwhile, said the site’s distance from an MRT station and its location “in the quieter part of Bishan” could push it into the Standard category.

Going by strong demand for two- and four-room units, Wong said it is likely that this flat type will form the bulk of the supply in the Sin Ming project, with three-room units – if offered – in the minority.

Notably, she said, the demand for this three-room flat type at Sin Ming Residences was muted, with 177 applications for 105 units, compared with 2,293 applications for 627 4-room flats. The remaining 252 flats in the project are rental units.

Lim added that the project is likely to appeal to parents with school-aged children as Ai Tong School and Catholic High School are within 1km of the site.

As such, to accommodate larger families, Lim suggested that HDB could include some five-room flats in the mix.

With new public and private homes in the pipeline and hundreds of households set to move into Sin Ming – a primarily industrial estate – both analysts said that the character of the area may change over time, although they noted that industrial developments will remain a fixture in the neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, the analysts said that the development in Lorong 4 Toa Payoh will likely be classified Prime or Plus if launched as a BTO project, owing to the site’s proximity to the town centre and an MRT station.

Both said they expect a mix of two- and four-room flats to be built at the site.

Wong said that the project’s 193 units could make it the smallest BTO project in Toa Payoh since March 2012, when 188 units at the studio apartment block Golden Clover were put on sale.

She said that redeveloping the open-air carpark site is an opportunity for the HDB to offer what are likely to be well sought-after units located close to the MRT station, with few undeveloped larger sites available in the town centre.

Lim added that the planned multi-storey carpark and community facilities that are being built at the site will also improve existing residents’ living environment in the longer term.