October 2023 BTO exercise sees underwhelming response

Applications for the October 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise will be coming to close on October 10 at 11.59pm. This exercise is offering 6,800 flats for sale across six projects in Queenstown, Kallang-Whampoa, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah. Two of these projects are Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) projects.

According to Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, response to the exercise has been underwhelming. HDB data as of 5pm on Oct 10 show that only 9,848 applications have been received, compared to more than 16,000 applicants for the February 2023 BTO exercise and more than 20,000 applicants for the May 2023 BTO exercise.

Lee believes this is down to the new penalties for non-selection of flats which have kicked in with this exercise. First-timers who reject their chance to book a flat when invited to do so will now recieve lower priority for a year, while second-timers who have one non-selection count will be made to wait one year before they apply for a flat again.

It has also been speculated by Lee that some buyers may be waiting for the December 2023 BTO exercise which will offer long-awaited flats at Sin Ming in Bishan and Alexandra Vale in Bukit Merah.

Based on the applications submitted as of 5pm on Oct 10, Ismali Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, states that the October 2023 BTO exercise has seen an overall subscription rate of about 1.4 times – making this possibly the “lowest BTO application rates in recent years.”

The Tengah projects (Plantation Edge I & II) saw the highest subscription rate of 2.1 times, while the flats at the Choa Chu Kang project (Rail Green I & II) saw an overall application rate of about 1.6 times.

In comparison, mature estates saw a more muted response. The Kallang-Whampoa projects, including the 1,143-unit Verandah @ Kallang PLH project, achieved an overall application rate of about 1.3 times. The 973-unit Tanglin Halt Cascadia PLH project also observed a more measured application rate of 1.1 times.

Gafoor notes that most first-timers stand a high chance of securing a flat with application rates for four-room flats ranging from 0.8 to 1.0 times, and five-room flats standing at about 1.6 times. Three-room flats have an application rate range of 0.2 to 0.8 times.

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Given these figures, it is clear to see why the October 2023 BTO exercise has achieved the lowest BTO application rate in the recent years.