Tanjong Rhu 4-room BTO flats expected to see strong demand despite price tag of up to $727k: Experts

Up to $727,000 for a four-room Prime BTO flat — that's how much one can expect to pay for the most expensive Prime flat in Tanjong Rhu, which was among the 5,032 BTO flats launched in February's BTO sales exercise.

Tanjong Rhu Parc Front in the Kallang/Whampoa precinct is only one out of the five projects that is classified under the Prime category in February's BTO exercise, said the Housing Board in a press release on Monday (Feb 10).

Prime, along with Plus flats, have superior locational attributes, and are priced with more subsidies than Standard flats to ensure affordability.

They also come with with tighter restrictions on resale, such as the subsidy clawback which is set at nine per cent for Tanjong Rhu Parc Front, said HDB.

Several property experts told AsiaOne on Tuesday that the four-room BTO flats in Tanjong Rhu, at 90 sqm, are expected to be a hit with home buyers, despite the relatively high prices.

Prices of the Tanjong Rhu flats, excluding grants, go for up to $364,000 for a two-room Flexi flat, $399,000 to $519,000 for a three-room flat and $548,000 to $727,000 for a four-room flat.

'Prices are within expectations'

Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at Singapore Realtors Inc, said that the prices set by HDB take into account various factors, including location and accessibility.

"The prices are within expectations given their city-fringe locations and proximity to key amenities and transport links," he said.

Another factor, said Sandrasegeran, is the resale prices of flats in the vicinity.

Four-room resale flats in Kallang/Whampoa went for between $960,000 and $1.05 million in the resale market, said HDB.

"As always, eligible buyers will also benefit from housing grants, which enhances their affordability," added Sandrasegeran.

Bounded by the existing Tanjong Rhu Road, Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and East Coast Parkway, the BTO project at Tanjong Rhu has four blocks comprising 812 units of two-room Flexi, three-room and four-room flats. One of the blocks will also include 203 rental flats.

Eugene Lim, ERA Singapore's key executive officer, said that the BTO flat launch in June 2024 also saw a project in Tanjong Rhu launched under the old Prime Location Public Housing model.

The price of a four-room flat in Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II was between $568,000 and $779,000, which Lim said is more expensive than the flats in Tanjong Rhu Parc Front.

"The application rate was 2.1 for Tanjong Rhu during the June 2024 BTO launch, affirming the popularity for this location," he said, adding that Tanjong Rhu Parc Front is expected to attract similar interest. 

Waiting times for BTO flats

The other BTO projects on offer during the Feb 2025 exercise are Plus flats in Queenstown, and Standard flats in Yishun and Woodlands.

The latter, located within walking distance of Singapore's northern waterfront and near Woodlands Checkpoint, is the first to be offered in the Woodlands North Coast precinct.

Eight out of the 10 BTO flats will have waiting times of four years or less, said HDB.

Buyers can expect a waiting time of four years and seven months for Plus project Stirling Horizon in Queenstown - the longest wait in this sales exercise.

Meanwhile, the waiting time for the 1,531 flats across two Standard projects in Yishun - Chencharu Vines and Chencharu Green - will be the shortest in this sales exercise of around three years.

The units here comprise two-room Flexi, three-room, four-room and five-room flats.

Christine Sun, senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie, told AsiaOne that the shorter waiting time in these BTO flats might lower the demand for resale flats. 

"This is primarily because the affordability of BTO flats compared to resale options remains a significant deciding factor," she said.

"The decrease in demand for resale flats could potentially slow the rate of price growth in the long run, depending on how many flats with shorter waiting times are released in the coming years."

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chingshijie@asiaone.com