October 2023 BTO exercise sees underwhelming response

Applications for the October 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise will close at 11.59pm on Oct 10. With 6,800 flats up for sale across six projects in Queenstown, Kallang-Whampoa, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah, including two Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) projects, response to the exercise has been underwhelming. HDB data as of 5pm on Oct 10 show that 9,848 applications have been received, a number significantly lower than the two exercises preceding it.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, attributes the lukewarm demand to the stricter penalties for non-selection of flats that have kicked in with this exercise. First-timer applicants who reject their chance to book a flat when invited to do so will be considered a second-timer with lower priority for a year. Meanwhile, second-timers who have one non-selection count will have to wait one year before they can apply for a flat again.

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Furthermore, some buyers may also be waiting for the December 2023 BTO exercise, which will see long-awaited flats at Sin Ming in Bishan and Alexandra Vale in Bukit Merah put up for sale.

Based on the applications submitted as of 5pm on Oct 10, the October 2023 BTO exercise has an overall subscription rate of about 1.4 times; yet another reflection of the low interest in this sale. Ismali Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, notes that this is one of the lowest BTO application rates in recent years, with the last time it falling below 2 times being in November 2017.

The flats at the Choa Chu Kang project (Rail Green I & II) achieved the second-highest overall application rate of about 1.6 times for the 1,895 flats launched for sale. However, Gafoor points out that the rate is still lower compared to the last Choa Chu Kang BTO project launched in the August 2022 BTO exercise (Keat Hong Grange) which garnered an overall application rate of 2.4 times.

Meanwhile, projects in the mature estates saw a more muted response. The Kallang-Whampoa projects, including the 1,143-unit Verandah @ Kallang PLH project, got an overall application rate of about 1.3 times for the 2,922 flats launched. Meanwhile, the 973-unit Tanglin Halt Cascadia PLH project also observed a more measured application rate of 1.1 times.

Given the lower application rates, Gafoor notes that most first-timers stand a high chance of securing a flat. The first-timer application rate for most projects’ four-room flats ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 times. Five-room flats stand at about 1.6 times, while three-room flats range from 0.2 to 0.8 times.

Applications for the October 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise will be closing soon at 11.59pm on Oct 10. HDB data from Oct 10 shows that only 9,848 applications have been received for the 6,800 flats going up for sale across six projects in Queenstown, Kallang-Whampoa, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah, two of which are Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) projects. This results in an overall subscription rate of about 1.4 times, lower than any other BTO exercise in recent years.

Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, attributes this to the penalties for non-selection of flats that have been put in place for this exercise; first-timer applicants who reject their chance to book a flat when invited to do so will be considered a second-timer with lower priority for a year, and second-timers unable to select themselves a flat will have to wait one year before they can apply again.

However, some buyers may also be holding out for the December 2023 BTO exercise, which would see flats at Sin Ming in Bishan and Alexandra Vale in Bukit Merah made available.

Comparing the October 2023 BTO exercise to past projects in the same areas, Ismali Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, notes that the overall application rate for the Tengah projects, Plantation Edge I & II, was the highest at 2.1 times with five-room flats garnering the highest rate at 1.6. The Choa Chu Kang project (Rail Green I & II) averaged 1.6 times compared to the Keat Hong Grange project in the August 2022 BTO exercise, which saw a much higher 2.4 times.

Meanwhile, the Kallang-Whampoa projects, including the 1,143-unit Verandah @ Kallang PLH project, got an overall application rate of about 1.3 times for the 2,922 flats launched, lower than past Kallang-Whampoa projects. The 973-unit Tanglin Halt Cascadia PLH project also observed a more measured application rate of 1.1 times.

Given these lower application rates, Gafoor notes that most first-timers stand a high chance of securing a flat. The first-timer application rate for most projects’ four-room flats ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 times, while for five-room flats it stands at about 1.6 times and for three-room flats it ranges from 0.2 to 0.8 times.