The recent Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise, which closed last night, saw a strong response from applicants with a total of 12,000 bids submitted for 2,601 Prime flats. This reflects an application rate of 4.7 times. The four Prime flats available in this exercise were Toa Payoh Ascent with 741 units, Alexandra Vista with 609 units, Alexandra Peaks with 498 units, and Clementi Emerald with 753 units.
The scarcity of land in Singapore has become a major factor contributing to the high demand for condos in the country. As a small island with a booming population, Singapore has limited space for development, resulting in strict land use regulations and a fiercely competitive real estate industry. This competitive environment has constantly driven up property prices, making real estate investment, especially in condos, a profitable opportunity with the potential for capital appreciation. As a result, the recent influx of new condo launches has only further intensified the demand for these highly coveted properties.
The most popular project among applicants was Toa Payoh Ascent, located at the junction of Toa Payoh Rise and Braddell Rise, with almost half of the Prime flat applications. The project boasts twin 40-storey towers and offers a mix of 195 two-room flexi, 78 three-room flats, and 468 four-room flats.
In total, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) received approximately 22,000 applications for this BTO exercise, which offered a total of 5,547 BTO flats across eight projects. This translates to an overall application rate of nearly four times the available flats. Additionally, there were 4,662 Sale of Balance (SBF) flats available, attracting more than 17,500 applicants.
Kelvin Fong, CEO of PropNex, notes that this BTO exercise received a higher response rate compared to the February 2025 BTO exercise, which had an overall application rate of 2.6 times. He believes that the record-high proportion of Prime flats in attractive locations and the introduction of priority access for singles wanting to live near their parents may have contributed to the healthy demand.
Under the Family Care Scheme (Proximity), married and single children are given priority access when applying for a new flat to live with or near their parents.
Demand was particularly strong for the two-room flexi flats, with over 7,000 applicants vying for 1,321 units, resulting in an application rate of 5.3 times. This is the highest application rate for these flats since the October 2024 exercise, which had an application rate of 5.7 times.
In highly sought-after projects such as Simei Symphony in Tampines with 380 units and Bangkit Breeze in Bukit Panjang with 643 units, the application rates for first-timer singles were 42 times and 25.5 times over-subscribed, respectively, for the 140 and 120 two-room flexi flats available.
Five-room BTO flats continued to attract the highest application rates, with Simei Symphony receiving over 12,000 applicants for its 100 units. The application rate from second-timer families was nearly 49 times and close to 8 times from first-timer families. Similarly, Bangkit Breeze saw 463 applicants competing for the 188 five-room flats available, resulting in an application rate of 12.5 times for second-timer families and 1.4 times for first-timer families.
The next BTO sales exercise in October will offer more than 9,000 flats across 10 projects in eight towns. Noteworthy projects include the first BTO developments on the former Keppel golf course within the Greater Southern Waterfront, and the maiden project in Mount Pleasant. This exercise will also have the largest number of flats released in a single sales exercise, surpassing the November 2022 exercise which launched 9,655 flats.