Why You May Want To Wait For The Oct 2024 BTO Launch: 8,500 New Homes + New “White Flat Model”

We’ve just finished the June 2024 BTO launch, and for those of you who’ve missed out or are looking for different locations – there’s always the October 2024 BTO launch to look forward to. What’s interesting this time is that the launch sites for October 2024 carry a bit of novelty, as this will be the first time we’re seeing Plus flats.

On top of this, HDB is piloting a new “white flat” model, with minimal internal walls as well as a beam-less design. We’re expecting about 8,500 new homes across a wide variety of locations, and one of these is the formerly private enclave of Bayshore. This round of BTO launches is not only one of the largest, but the most varied to date:

Where are the October 2024 launch sites?

HDB will release more exact details and locations closer to the date itself. However, we do know the towns involved:

• Ang Mo Kio: Ang Mio Kio Central 3,430 flats

• Bedok: The new Bayshore enclave is here, and has two plots with 730 and 710 flats each. Separately, there will be a site next to Kembangan MRT with 340 flats.

• Bukit Batok: Bukit Batok West Ave. 8, 690 flats

• Geylang: Next to Mattar MRT station. 420 community care apartments

• Jurong West: Yung Ho Road, 1,840 flats

• Kallang/Whampoa: This is where the new white flats will be piloted. There are 360 flats at May Road, 310 flats at North Bridge Road, and 270 flats at Upper Boon Keng Road, but we don’t have specifics on which plots (or if all the plots) are piloting the new flat layouts. 

• Pasir Ris: Next to Pasir Ris MRT, 760 flats 

• Sengkang: 550 flats next to Layar LRT station, and another 840 flats at Fernvale Street

• Woodlands: Woodlands Centre Road, 290 flats 

1. Plus model flats

Plus flats are a new concept, applied to HDB developments that are closer to the hub of their specific neighbourhood. Most of the time that means being closer to the MRT station, where the heartland malls and market centres tend to be also. 

The difference between Plus and Prime flats is that a Plus flat isn’t necessarily in a highly central location like Tanjong Pagar or Queenstown. Its location is stronger within the context of its immediate neighbourhood. 

Plus flats will carry many of the same restrictions as Prime flats, although the price – and the subsequent Subsidy Recovery (SR) – will be lower (see this article for the full details). 

The first of the Plus flats will be at Bayshore (see below). It will be interesting to see the public response to these units: while they’re pricier and more convenient, some may not feel it’s worth the 10-year MOP and other drawbacks if the town in question is not particularly developed. Would you, for instance, consider a more expensive Plus flat in an area like Tengah or Sengkang? 

Resale prospects for Plus and Prime flats are also uncertain, as subsequent buyers still face requirements like an income ceiling (this doesn’t exist for standard resale flats) and the extended MOP.

While Prime flats appear to do well nonetheless, the demand for Plus flats will be closely watched to gauge the market sentiment. 

2. The Kallang – Whampoa White Flats

Taking open concepts to an extreme, these flats have a layout that is beam-less, and they have as few partitions as possible. I.e. The living room, kitchen, and bedroom spaces are all in one single, undivided area. 

This means the flat is the ultimate blank slate, which you can configure however you wish. Young couples or lifelong singles, for instance, can skip out on some bedrooms if the entire space is to themselves; whilst some families may want to tuck in an added room for grandparents who sometimes stay overnight. It certainly makes life easier for interior designers as well, who can shave the cost of hacking walls from the client’s budget.

Some homebuyers may prefer a more traditional layout though, and may not want to have to install their own partitions. We’ll have to see how demand pans out for these units; but if it does well we’ll probably see a lot more in future. 

(Mind you, it will be hard to tell if demand is because people like the idea of the open concept, or if it’s just that Kallang-Whampoa is a very well developed and high-demand area). 

3. The Bayshore enclave

This is an interesting area because it’s not a new enclave, except with regard to public housing. Bayshore has been a centre of private housing – both landed and non-landed – for many decades. It was also, until the construction of the Bayshore MRT station, a kind of area that was deliberately exclusive (i.e., mostly inaccessible unless you drive). 

The sudden introduction of so many HDB flats may not be pleasing to every resident here, especially the landed homes in the Lucky Heights area, which have long treasured the serenity of the area. We expect analysts will be eyeing price movements for the condos and landed homes here, as a gauge of how HDB construction might impact private home prices. 

That Bayshore is a Plus model development makes it even more interesting. It takes quite a while to get from this area to town, so even with the MRT, some may consider it less convenient. This raises the issue as to how many people will accept Plus restrictions on what is still, in the end, quite a fringe area. 

One thing’s for certain: HDB seems dead set on preventing a repeat of the post-Covid era

The aggressive release of more flats – perhaps in preparation for a higher population – has taken a creative bent. Rather than just churning out more and more flats, HDB seems to be getting experimental again, and exploring more diverse locations and concepts. The next couple of years are going to be interesting ones; and at this rate, it’s clear that resale flats will struggle to maintain their upward price movements.

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