Come November, HDB applicants will have 12,000 new units to choose from. As an effort to allow more applicants to benefit from the new housing policies which were announced in August, the Housing Board has decided to merge the last 2 major launches of HDB flats, one of which was originally planned for September, to allow for this massive combined offering in November.
Out of the 12,000 units to be launched, 7,000 will be BTO (build-to-order) flats in Bidadari, Punggol Northshore, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang and Sengkang. Another 5,000 units will be made available under the Sale-of-balance-flats (SBF) scheme.
Main changes in housing policies which may apply to the upcoming launch include:
- Income ceiling for new BTO flats raised from 10,000 to $12,000
- Special CPF Housing Grant will be available for household earning more than $8,500 instead of the previous $6,500.
- A two-room flex scheme for elderly buyers who may want a shorter lease
Market analysts are however expecting the 2,130-unit Bidadari launch to be oversubscribed by up to 5 times and with units costing 20 per cent more than other BTO flats, perhaps even up to $400,000 for a four-room unit. Likening it to Bishan, which was also built on cemetery ground, Bidadari is situated near the Potong Pasir MRT station and will have a park and lake in its midst.
But considering Bidadari is a new estate, and future launches may be slated for this area, buyers may hold back in wait rather than rush to be first, unlike launches in mature estates.
