HDB launches largest BTO exercise in Tengah, Ang Mo Kio and Tampines: Yay or Nay?

HDB had just recently announced this year’s largest BTO exercise on Tuesday, 12 November 2019.

4,571 BTO flats were launched and are spread across 5 housing projects, 3 in the new town of Tengah and the other two in Ang Mo Kio and Tampines.

The prices are as follows:

Eligible first-timers families can enjoy the enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $80,000. Buyers of BTO are, however, not eligible for Family Grant and Proximity Grant.

So here’s the pressing question: Is the recent BTO price too high?

To answer this question we will need to do a case study on the question.

PropNex’s research team has produced this case study to make a comparison on BTO and resale flat prices.

From the table you can see that Tampines GreenGlen’s (BTO) average price is about $346,000. The difference is about $90,000 to buy a resale flat in Tampines. Buying a BTO also entitles you to one grant, which is the Enhanced Housing Grant. With a monthly household income of $5,500, BTO buyers will get $40,000 in grant.

For resale flat buyers, you can get up to 3 grants; the Family Grant, the Enhanced Family Grant and Proximity Grant. In this case, the buyers will get $50,000 (FG) + $40,0000 (EHG) + $30,000 (PG) = $120,000 in grants.

There is also a possibility of saving on renovation. Buyers can view the properties and shortlist the properties that appeal to them. Unlike BTO, the unit/property is still under construction and you can only see the model of the flat. There is no renovation done and almost everything has to be done from scratch.

From the case study, you can actually see that buying a resale flat is more affordable that buying a BTO.

For Tampines GreenSpring, prices for a 4-room can range from $394,000 to $480,000. Meaning the average price is around $440,000. About $100,000 more than that of the Tampines GreenGleen.

With this new information, ask yourself whether the prices of Tampines GreenSpring is acceptable. You can also visit HDB website for the resale prices of properties in that vicinity. In your research, you should exclude the prices of DBSS.

What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment below or contact me directly for any queries.

Featured top image from HDB