October 2024 BTO sales exercise will comprise 1 Prime project, 7 Plus projects, and 7 Standard projects; first BTO launch under location-based classification

The Housing and Development Board HDB) will launch 15 Build-To-Order BTO) projects when the October BTO sales exercise is launched next week. It will be the first BTO sales exercise to feature flats that are categorised under the new location-based classification framework. Of the 15 projects that will be available, the 312-unit Crawford Heights in Kallang/Whampoa will be the only Prime project on offer. Meanwhile, there will be seven Plus projects spread across four towns and seven more Standard projects located in five towns. Standard projects will form the largest category of BTO flats each year, while Plus projects will be in “choicer” locations with good transport connectivity as well as proximity to amenities and the city centre. Meanwhile, Prime flats are in “exceptionally good” locations, often centrally located and near major town centres that support a wide range of amenities and transport options. Read also: The October 2024 BTO will introduce Plus flats and Open-Concept layouts Advertisement Advertisement In total, the October BTO sales exercise will offer 8,573 flats and it is the most number of BTO projects that the government has released in a single BTO sales exercise to date. The flats offered in this sales exercise make up more than 40% of the new HDB supply this year. The location-based classification is a significant policy shift by the government following decades under the town-based framework, where HDB towns were categorised as either mature or non-mature areas. Future BTO sales exercises will categorise projects as either Standard, Plus, or Prime. According to HDB, each upcoming BTO project will be evaluated based on a “holistic assessment” of their locational attributes – proximity to the city centre, transport connectivity, and availability of amenities such as social and commercial services. This opens the possibility of BTO projects with different classifications located within the same town. For example, the October BTO sales exercise will see the launch of Crawford Heights, located between North Bridge Road and Crawford Street, in the Kallang/Whampoa. But two Plus projects will also be offered – the 355-unit Towner Breeze, and the 271-unit Kallang View. Meanwhile, Bedok will see three BTO Plus projects – the 734-unit Bayshore Vista, the 710-unit Bayshore Palms, and the 348-unit Kembangan Wave. Pasir Ris will see two BTO Standard projects – the 276-unit Costa Riviera I and the 491-unit Costa Riviera II. Read also: HDB launches resale flat listing portal for owners Advertisement Advertisement Plus and Prime flats will be priced with additional subsidies, on top of existing ‘market discounts’ applied to all BTO projects, says HDB. This is in line with the government’s ongoing policy of keeping public housing affordable. However, buyers of Plus and Prime flats will be required to return a percentage of the resale price of valuation of the flat (whichever is higher) when the unit is sold on the resale market. HDB says that this subsidy clawback will vary from project to project. The government says that details like purchase price and scope of subsidy recovery will be made known to buyers during the BTO sales exercise next week. Standard flats will not face any subsidy recovery. Plus and Prime flats will also face a ten-year minimum occupation period (MOP) compared to the usual five years that Standard flats will face.