Applications for Punggol Arcadia, HDB’s latest BTO (Built-to-Order) flats closed today with 2,300 subscriptions. With just 750 units available, this represents an oversubscrtiption of about three times.
“This three times oversubscription,” says PropNex CEO Mohamed Ismail, “demonstrates that there is still a high demand for public housing. Even with the higher prices, the BTO is currently the cheapest option available for newly married couples who want a roof over the heads.
Punggol Arcadia’s median price for 5-room flats were only a few thousand dollars below that of Punggol resale flats.
Ismail considers the three times oversubscription to indicate strong demand as, technically, fewer than 40% of the applicants will get a flat.
“Given these results,” Ismail concludes, “we can expect to see the HDB resale market continue to do well for the whole year with an overall 14% growth increase. In fact, I do not expect any slack in the demand for 3- and 4-room flats, although, given the economy, there may be more cautious sentiments where 5-room flats are concerned. "