Summary
The February-2025 BTO exercise is likely to be the last one before the coming General
Election. Hence, the government would need to launch a Goldilocks BTO exercise, one that
is not too big and not too small, but just right.
The proportion of Prime and Plus flats could rise in future BTO exercises as the
government develops more prime land. This could slow down or even cap the growth of the
number of million-dollar HDB resale flats in the short term.
The upcoming Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the Rapid Transit System
(RTS) station at Woodlands North could increase the demand for the 1,563-unit BTO project,
Woodlands North Verge. But it still would not overtake the demand for BTO flats in the city
fringes.
Introduction
In the first Build-to-Order (BTO) exercise of 2025, the Singapore Government releases 5,032
new Build-to-Order (BTO) flats in five projects and 5,590 Sale of Balance flats (SBF) for sale
in February.
Locations of the BTO projects
Two of the BTO projects are located at the city fringe, namely at Tanjong Rhu and
Queenstown. Both of these locations are highly sought after by homebuyers.
The other three BTO projects are located in Yishun and Woodlands in the north region. The
two projects in Yishun are in the newly developed Chencharu area.
Table 1: The five BTO projects and their locations
BTO project name | HDB Towns | Region | Est. distance to MRT station (metres) | Nearest MRT or LRT station / MRT Code |
Tanjong Rhu Parc Front | Kallang/Whampoa | Central | 490 | Tanjong Rhu (TE23) |
Stirling Horizon | Queenstown | Central | 530 | Queenstown (EW19) |
Woodlands North Verge | Woodlands | North | 600 | Woodlands North (TE1) |
Chencharu Vines | Yishun | North | 830 | Khatib (NS14) |
Chencharu Green | Yishun | North | 610 | Khatib (NS14) |
Source: Mogul.sg Research
The residents in these five BTO projects will be well-served by public transportation as each
project is located less than 1 km from the nearest MRT station in its respective location.
The last BTO exercise before the GE 2025
This February BTO exercise is likely to be the last one before the coming General Election,
based on the heightened activities among the political parties. The next BTO exercise will be
in July 2025. Hence, this BTO and SBF exercise would need to be big enough to meet the
housing demand of interested homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, who are mostly
eligible Singaporean voters.
However, the number of flats in this exercise should not be so large that it would deflate the
demand in the HDB resale market for the next few months, which would displease HDB
resale flat sellers, who are also voters.
Therefore, the government would need to launch a Goldilocks BTO exercise, one that is not
too big and not too small, but just right.
Compare this BTO exercise with the previous one
This is the second BTO exercise that is launched under the new HDB flat classification
framework which flats are classified as either Standard, Plus or Prime. The proportion of
Prime flats has risen significantly from 3.6% in the October 2024 BTO exercise to 16.1% in
the current exercise.
Table 2: Number of flats according to flat types and classification
BTO Project Name | No. of 2-room flats | No. of 3-room flats | No. of 4-room flats | No. of 5-room flats | Total No. of flats | HDB flat classification |
Tanjong Rhu Parc Front | 261 | 87 | 464 | 0 | 812 | Prime |
Stirling Horizon | 459 | 81 | 586 | 0 | 1,126 | Plus |
Woodlands North Verge | 335 | 85 | 608 | 535 | 1,563 | Standard |
Chencharu Vines | 191 | 90 | 305 | 262 | 848 | Standard |
Chencharu Green | 165 | 0 | 271 | 247 | 683 | Standard |
Source: Mogul.sg Research
This could be the government’s effort to meet the housing demand of buyers who are
prepared to pay more than $1 million for resale HDB flats by providing new BTO flats in
attractive locations at discounted prices.
As the government develops prime residential land such as those at the Greater Southern
Waterfront, Turf City at Bukit Timah and Mount Pleasant, the proportion of Prime and Plus
flats could increase gradually until these two types of flats comprise of about 40% to just less
than half of the flats in each of the future BTO exercises.
Table 3: Proportion of total number of BTO flats according to flat classification
HDB Flat Classification | February 25 | October 24 |
Prime | 16.1% | 3.6% |
Plus | 22.4% | 38.2% |
Standard | 61.5% | 58.2% |
TOTAL | 100% | 100% |
Source: Mogul.sg Research
The increase in the supply of attractively located flat that are well-designed and with fresh
99-year lease could slow down or even cap the growth of the number of million-dollar HDB
resale flats in the short term.
JS-SEZ and RTS could boost demand for housing in Woodlands
Among the five planning regions in Singapore, the North Region is often considered the
poorer cousin compared to the other regions as the real estate prices in the North Region
are typically lower than prices in the other regions. The bigger HDB towns in the North
Region are Woodlands, Yishun and Sembawang.
However, the upcoming Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) in Johor could
be a game changer. The JS-SEZ is expected to create 20,000 skilled jobs for people on both
sides of the Causeway.
Furthermore, in the works is the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS), which
will connect Johor Bahru to Woodlands North in Singapore. When completed, it will facilitate
the commute between Singapore and Johor Bahru, with a train journey time of about five
minutes between the two stations. This rail system could meet a peak capacity of up to
10,000 passengers per hour per direction.
The 1,563-unit BTO project, Woodlands North Verge, is located near the Woodlands North
station, which is the Singapore’s end of the RTS Link. The announcement of the JS-SEZ
could boost the demand for this BTO project, especially from Singaporeans who would be
working in the Special Economic Zone.
The promised economic benefit and job opportunities from the JS-SEZ could have a positive
effect on the housing demand for both public and private housing in the Woodlands area in
the coming years. However, housing demand in Woodlands is still unlikely to overtake the
demand for homes in the city fringe or city centre.
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