SINGAPORE - More than 960 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Punggol with a waiting time of three years and one month will be launched in February.
The Matilda Riverside project, located beside Punggol Reservoir in Sumang Lane, will be the first BTO development to be launched in Punggol since 2019, the Housing Board said on Feb 18.
A total of 962 units of two-room flexi, three-, four- and five-room flats will be offered across seven blocks, ranging from 10 to 19 storeys high.
The waiting time for the project will be the shortest in the upcoming sales exercise, HDB said.
In all, more than 80 per cent of the 4,100 flats launched in February will have waiting times shorter than 3½ years.
HDB said the units in Matilda Riverside will be positioned so that residents have views of the waterfront and the courtyard spaces in between the blocks.
Motifs of marine creatures such as fish and otters will be incorporated in communal areas to pay homage to the area’s waterfront location and history as a fishing village, it added.
A jogging and cycling path will link residents to the waterfront promenade and the Punggol Park Connector along Punggol Reservoir.
There will also be amenities such as playgrounds, fitness facilities, a three-storey pre-school and a residents’ network centre within the precinct, HDB said.
The design of Punggol’s Matilda district, including its BTO projects, is inspired by the former Matilda House, a single-storey tropical-style bungalow built in 1902.
The house, which has open verandahs and columns framing its walkways, is now a clubhouse inside a condominium. Similarly, the district has boulevards lined with shrubs and trees.
About 4,100 flats will be launched in the February sales exercise, with the other projects in Bedok, Queenstown, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang and Woodlands.
It will be the first of three BTO launches in 2024. National Development Minister Desmond Lee announced in December that sales exercises from 2024 will take place three times a year, instead of four.
The Sale of Balance Flats exercise will happen once a year from 2024, down from twice yearly. About 1,500 balance flats in various towns will be released in February.
Property analysts had previously said the two BTO projects in Bedok could see high application rates, given its proximity to transport nodes.
One project is next to Bedok Green Primary School in New Upper Changi Road, and is two bus stops from the Bedok Integrated Transport Hub.
The other – bounded by Bedok North Street 3 and the Pan-Island Expressway – is near Bedok Reservoir MRT station.
Ms Lim Wenqi, 26, said she plans to apply for a four-room flat at the 520-unit project near the Bedok Integrated Transport Hub.
“My boyfriend’s parents live in the area, and the project is near Bedok Mall, a hawker centre and parks. There’s everything we need to start a family,” said the human resources executive.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at real estate agency Huttons Asia, said there could be some pent-up demand for the Punggol project. However, he noted that it is not near any MRT or LRT station, which could be a downside for applicants.
Soo Teck LRT station, about 1.2km away, is the closest to the development.
Separately, HDB said it had processed more than 88,600 applications for the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter by the end of 2023.
The HFE letter, implemented in May 2023, informs HDB flat buyers if they are eligible to buy a new or resale flat, how much in Central Provident Fund housing grants they can use, and how much HDB housing loan they qualify for.
It replaced the HDB Loan Eligibility letter, in a move to streamline the flat-buying process.
About 78,500 home seekers have had their applications approved, HDB added.
Of these, about 42,800, or 55 per cent of successful applicants, have used their HFE letter to apply for new or resale flats in 2023.
