SINGAPORE - Four-room flats in Built-To-Order (BTO) projects in Hougang and Queenstown were the most popular among first-timer families in the latest sales exercise.

As at 5pm on Feb 28, more than four first-time applicants were vying for each of the 122 four-room flats at Tanjong Tree Residences @ Hougang in Hougang Street 13, which has a wait of three years and three months.

Tanglin Halt Courtyard in Queenstown drew 1,078 applicants for the 175 four-room flats, despite having the longest waiting time in this launch at four years and 10 months.

The first-timer application rate stood at 3.2 for these flats, which are part of a 48-storey integrated development that will also house a two-storey hawker centre and market, shops, a pre-school, a residents’ network centre and a polyclinic.

The project – which is a five-minute walk from Commonwealth MRT station – falls under the prime location public housing (PLH) model, which comes with stricter conditions including an 8 per cent subsidy clawback upon resale and a 10-year minimum occupation period.

In all, 4,126 BTO flats are on sale across seven projects in Bedok, Queenstown, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Punggol and Woodlands. Applications will close at 11.59pm on Feb 28.

Bedok North Springs, one of two projects in the mature town, had about three first-time applicants vying for each of the 135 five-room flats on offer.

It is near Bedok Reservoir MRT station, while the other project, Bedok South Bloom, is located in New Upper Changi Road and is close to the Bedok Integrated Transport Hub.

Across both projects, there were 1,390 applicants for 499 four-room flats, with two first-time applicants gunning for each unit.

Application rates were lower for flats in the non-mature estates of Punggol, Woodlands and Choa Chu Kang.

At Matilda Riverside in Punggol, the first-timer application rate was 1.5 for the 358 four-room flats. It is the first BTO development launched in Punggol since 2019.

Woodgrove Edge in Woodlands had 1.5 first-time applicants for each of the 341 four-room flats, while the Rail Garden @ CCK project beside Pang Sua Canal drew 1.2 first-time applicants for each of the 224 four-room flats.

Five-room flats in Punggol and Woodlands were oversubscribed, with 606 applicants for 221 five-room units in Matilda Riverside, and 837 applicants for the 324 such units in Woodgrove Edge.

The first-timer application rate for these units, which have an estimated size of 110 sq m, was 1.7 across both projects.

At least 95 per cent of four-room and larger flats in non-mature estates are set aside for first-time applicants.

Three-room flats in Hougang, Punggol and Choa Chu Kang were undersubscribed among first-timers, while those in Woodlands drew one applicant per flat on offer. These units have an estimated size of 66 to 68 sq m.

Those who get a queue number for this launch can expect to book their flat at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh between May 2024 and February 2025.

In a Facebook post, HDB said the number of applications it received from first-timers from Feb 21 to 27 was about 30 per cent lower than in the previous exercise in December 2023, falling from 6,700 to 4,700.

It attributed the decrease to the concurrent Sale of Balance Flats exercise, the only launch of its kind in 2024.

The median application rate for first-time applicants for three-room and larger flats was 1.5 as at 5pm on Feb 28, higher than the rate in the October and December launches, HDB noted.

It expects the final application rate for February’s sales exercise to be “relatively muted” at about two, lower than the pre-pandemic norm.

PropNex Realty chief executive Ismail Gafoor said February’s exercise had an overall application rate of 2.5 for the 4,126 units on offer, indicating that demand has “largely stabilised”, despite drawing a higher rate compared with the launch in October (1.6) and December 2023 (2.2).

“The tighter non-selection rule has helped to sift out those who are applying merely to ‘try their luck’. It is also beneficial for genuine flat applicants who will now stand a better chance of securing their flat,” Mr Gafoor said, referring to stricter rules for applicants who reject an offer to book units which kicked in from the October exercise.

These include the rule that applicants of the BTO and Sale of Balance Flats schemes who get a queue position falling within the flat supply cannot apply for a flat in later exercises until after their booking appointment.

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at real estate agency Huttons Asia, said previous BTO projects launched in Hougang in 2021 were oversubscribed, and the unmet demand could have led to higher interest in Tanjong Tree Residences @ Hougang.

“Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School is a short walk away, a plus point for parents with young children,” he added.

Mr Gafoor attributed the “overwhelming” demand for flats in Tanglin Halt Courtyard to buyers being attracted to the convenience of amenities in the integrated project, as well as its location in the city fringe.