August 2022 Ang Mo Kio HDB BTO: What's the estimated price for the 3Gen flats?

August 2022 Ang Mo Kio HDB BTO: What's the estimated price for the 3Gen flats?
Lianhe Zaobao
PHOTO: The Straits Times

In the upcoming August 2022 BTO launch, we’ll see 3Gen flats being offered in Ang Mo Kio. It’s also the first time in two years that we see these flats being offered through the HDB BTO exercise – the last launch was during the February 2020 BTO for Canberra Vista.

HDB hasn’t announced the actual prices yet. In the meantime, we’re going to look at the past prices to estimate the 3Gen flat prices in the August 2022 Ang Mo Kio BTO.

What is a 3Gen flat?

First launched in September 2013 at Saraca Breeze @ Yishun, 3Gen flats comprise four bedrooms – two of which have en-suite bathrooms. Unlike the typical HDB flat that has a master bedroom, these flats have two of them.

3Gen flat floor plan at Canberra Vista.

They’re also slightly bigger than 5-room flats, measuring around 120 sqm, with an internal floor area of 115 sqm. In comparison, 5-room flats measure around 113 sqm and have an internal floor area of 110 sqm.

And as the name suggests, 3Gen flats are designed to cater to families of multiple generations to live under one roof.

3Gen flats are not to be confused with the multi-generation flats launched in the 1980s. These were 3- and 4-room flats that were reconfigured into 3-bedroom + studio flats. They also came with two entrances, and a door inside that joined the flats.

First 3Gen BTO flats in two years

As mentioned earlier, the last time we saw 3Gen flats being launched for BTO was for the Canberra Vista project during the February 2020 BTO launch.

We also note in our Ang Mo Kio BTO review that these flats have mainly been launched in the suburbs for the past five years, except for Woodleigh Hillside back in May 2017.

In Ang Mo Kio itself, the August 2022 launch is the first launch in six years offering 3Gen flats. The last time was during the May 2016 BTO exercise for Ang Mo Kio Court.

So it’s good that we’re seeing new 3Gen flats being offered. These flats are especially suitable for those looking for bigger space as they seek to live with the extended family – whether it’s for the grandparents to take care of the grandkids, or the adult child to take care of their elderly parents.

3Gen flats come with stricter requirements

And since 3Gen flats are designed to cater to multi-generational families, they come with more requirements and restrictions.

For instance, you’ll need to apply with at least one parent to be eligible for a 3Gen flat.

This also means that since your parent is included in the application, they cannot have any property to their name, whether locally or overseas. They should not have disposed of any private property within 30 months of the flat application.

Another thing to note is that all owners and occupiers, including your parent(s) must not have enjoyed more than one housing subsidy to be eligible. That is, they can apply with you if they’ve never enjoyed a housing subsidy before, or received at most one housing subsidy.

A housing subsidy includes any of the following:

  • Bought a flat directly from HDB
  • Bought a resale flat with CPF housing grant
  • Bought a DBSS flat or EC from a developer
  • Enjoyed benefits from SERS

On top of that, when you resell the 3Gen flat, you can only sell it to a multi-generation family. This will limit the pool of potential buyers (and potentially the selling price as well).

And unlike typical HDB flats, you cannot rent out the rooms during the five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).

(We discuss more about what to consider before getting a 3Gen flats here.)

ALSO READ: 4 HDB blocks in Ang Mo Kio picked for HDB SERS scheme; over 600 households to move to replacement flats

Pricing trend of past 3Gen BTO flats

Before we estimate the price for the 3Gen flats in the upcoming Ang Mo Kio BTO, let’s look at the prices in the previous launches.

Looking at these price ranges, they vary quite widely depending on the location.

Since the first launch in 2013, there have been 3Gen flats whose prices were on the lower end of the price range. Flats in the outskirts, such as Jurong West and Woodlands ranged from $320k to $400k.

At the same time, we have seen 3Gen flats being priced towards the higher end of the price range, as high as $550k to $700k in city fringe locations such as Bidadari and Clementi.

What’s the price estimate for the 3Gen flats in the August 2022 Ang Mo Kio BTO then?

Let’s take a look at the BTO price of the only other Ang Mo Kio BTO project that has offered 3Gen flats so far. The price range for these flats, launched back in May 2016 for the Ang Mo Kio Court project, was $541k to $632k.

We note that the starting price for the 3Gen flats was $26k higher than the 5-room flats in the same launch, whose price range was from $515k to $626k.

In the same vein, the starting price of 3Gen flats in Woodleigh Hillside – the last time we’ve seen 3Gen flats being offered in a central location – was $43k higher than the starting price of 5-room flats in the same project. Interestingly, the price range for 5-room flats was wider from $579k to $681k, compared to the price range for 3Gen flats at $622k to $646k.

With that, we think the price difference for the starting price between the 5-room flats and 3Gen flats in the upcoming Ang Mo Kio BTO could be $35k.

Like Ang Mo Kio Court, the nearest MRT is around a 10-minute walk from the project. But we think the price difference will be higher as this BTO has 2 MRT stations nearby, and is closer to the heart of Ang Mo Kio.

As mentioned in our Ang Mo Kio review, SRX estimates that 5-room flats here will range from $680k to S$830k. With that, we estimate that the price range for the 3Gen flats will be from $S$715k to $840k.

What about resale 3Gen flats?

The first 3Gen flats were launched in 2013, so only a few projects have recently completed their MOP and started hitting the resale market.

As of writing, we’ve found a few listings of 3Gen flats.

  • Price: $800k
  • Floor area: 1,292 sq ft
  • Price psf: $619.2
  • Built year: 2017
  • Price: $810k
  • Floor area: 1,302 sq ft
  • Price psf: $622.12
  • Built year: 2018
  • Price: $850k
  • Floor area: 1,301 sq ft
  • Price psf: $653.34
  • Built year: 2018

But if you’re looking for an even bigger space, you may want to consider the multi-generational flats built in the 1980s.

  • Price: $790k
  • Floor area: 1,421 sq ft
  • Price psf: $555.95
  • Built year: 1987
  • Price: $1 million
  • Floor area: 1,625 sq ft
  • Price psf: $615.38
  • Built year: 1987

ALSO READ: HDB offers Ang Mo Kio Sers flat owners option of new units with shorter 50-year lease

This article was first published in 99.co.

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