Thursday, January 1, 2009

For Sale: 1,181 New HDB Flats Of All Sizes

Source : The Straits Times, Dec 31, 2008

Flats in Choa Chu Kang, Punggol will be offered under built-to-order plan

THE Housing Board is bringing down the curtains on a busy year with one more sales exercise - this time for 1,181 flats in Choa Chu Kang and Punggol.

It is offering everything from studio apartments to five-room flats, with prices ranging from $58,000 to $428,000.
















The flats are being offered under the build-to-order scheme where construction begins once a certain number of sales has been achieved.

A total of 7,793 flats has now been offered under the scheme this year, with demand generally robust despite flat sales in the broader property market.

One of the latest projects is Sunshine Court on Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3, opposite the Sunshine Place neighbourhood centre, which houses a supermarket, foodcourt and shops.

It offers standard flats of 164 studios, 117 three-room and 171 four-room units, costing between $58,000 and $236,000 each.

This is the first time 30-year lease studio apartments - meant for Singaporeans over 55 - have been offered for sale in Choa Chu Kang, said the HDB.

The studios will have elderly-friendly features such as grab bars and non-slip flooring, as well as built-in wardrobes, kitchen cabinets and cooking facilities.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the flats are attractively priced at less than $250 per sq ft, for three-roomers of roughly 700 sq ft, and 970 sq ft four-room homes.

Prices provided by HDB indicate that the flats are $60,000 to $80,000 cheaper than comparable resale flats in the area.

The second project - Punggol Regalia - is at the junction of Punggol Field and Punggol Place and near the future Punggol Town Centre.

It offers premium flats with 546 four-room and 183 five-room units, priced from $252,000 to $428,000 each.

They are around $33,000 to $86,000 cheaper than similar resale flats nearby of about six years old, said the HDB.

It added that the prices mean the average household would not need to fork out more than 25 per cent of their monthly income to service their loans.

Mr Ismail anticipates strong demand for three- and four-roomers at Choa Chu Kang, as the project is in a mature estate.

At the HDB's last sales launch - Dew Spring @ Yishun - earlier this month, such flats proved very popular, attracting many more applicants than the number of available units.

So far, 487 applications have been lodged for the project's 216 three-room units and 1,452 for the 504 four-room flats; only 152 bids have been received for the 144 two-room flats.

Smaller flats are now making a comeback, as the HDB is providing a steady supply of such homes for lower-income families and those homeowners who need to downgrade during the economic slowdown.

The HDB has said it will ramp up supply to around 4,000 units over the next two years to meet surging demand.

It will also continue to build up critical mass of new homes in Punggol.

Applications can be made on the HDB website www.hdb.gov.sg until Jan 12.

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