2,520 BTO Flats With Around Three-Year Waits to Launch in June Sales Exercise

Of the three developments, two in the new Sembawang North estate come with shorter waits of less than three years. The third project in Ang Mo Kio will have a wait of three years and one month. HDB said that to offer flats with shorter wait times, it works closely with other government agencies to plan early and prioritise certain project sites, enabling the design and planning process to begin so that construction can commence even before the project is launched for sale.

Sembawang Portico, one of the projects in the Sembawang North neighbourhood, will have the shortest wait in the upcoming launch at two years and seven months. It will have 875 units of two-room flexi, as well as three-, four- and five-room flats on a site in Admiralty Lane and Sembawang Drive. One of the three blocks will be integrated with rental flats.

The other project, Sembawang Brook, is located across the road from Sembawang Portico and has a wait of two years and nine months. It will have 1,160 units of two-room flexi; three-, four- and five-room; and three-generation flats. The plot is bounded by Admiralty Street and Sungei Sembawang, and the project will have five blocks, including one with rental flats. The nearest station, Sembawang, is a 15- to 20-minute walk away.

In Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, Kebun Baru Ridge will have a wait of three years and one month. The project offers 485 units of three- and four-room flats across three blocks, as well as a minimart and an eatery. It is about a 10- to 15-minute walk from Mayflower MRT station.

Property analysts previously said the Sembawang projects could see moderate demand as they are not situated near any MRT station and there is a lack of amenities nearby. However, HDB said that future residents of the two Sembawang projects will get earlier access to amenities such as cooked food, childcare centres, minimart and bus services, which will be available about six months after the first batch of residents collect the keys to their flats.

Typically, HDB shops start operating about nine months after the first batch of residents collect their keys. It can take three months for bus services to start, and more than a year for childcare centres to be set up. These are part of new measures by a multi-agency committee set up to ease inconveniences for residents moving into new BTO flats.

In the upcoming sales exercise, four other projects will be on offer in Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Bukit Merah and Woodlands.