First Mount Pleasant BTO flats to be launched in October
The project comprises 1,500 new flats, including public rental flats
THE first batch of Housing and Development Board (HDB) Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in the new Mount Pleasant housing estate will be launched in October this year, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said at his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Wednesday (Mar 5).
It will comprise around 1,500 two to four-room flats, as well as public rental flats, in residential blocks exceeding 40 storeys.
The nearby Mount Pleasant MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast Line will open in tandem with the completion of the area’s BTO projects, said the minister.
Spanning 33 hectares, the new Mount Pleasant housing estate is expected to yield 5,000 new homes. The upcoming BTO project in October will be the first of six planned for the area.
The previously brownfield site is bounded by Thomson Road and the Pan Island Expressway, and largely comprises the Old Police Academy site. Nearby are established neighbourhoods, such as Toa Payoh and Balestier.
The new estate was first announced in November 2021. It has been earmarked for residential development in the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Master Plan since 1998.
In a press statement, the Ministry of National Development (MND) and HDB said: “These plans are part of a broader strategy to enhance the geographical distribution of public housing and cater to the evolving aspirations and diverse needs of Singaporeans, including young families who wish to live near their parents.”
Analysts reckoned that upcoming BTOs in the Mount Pleasant area may fall under the Plus or Prime categories for new flats.
This means buyers will be subject to a 10-year minimum occupation period, as opposed to the standard five years, as well as tighter restrictions on resale and rental.
Lee Sze Teck, Huttons senior director of data analytics, believes that prices of a four-room flat may start from S$525,000, and those on the top-most floors facing the city may be priced above S$700,000.
In comparison, OrangeTee Group chief researcher and strategist Christine Sun noted that the median resale price of three-room flats aged 10 years or younger in the Toa Payoh area was S$788,000 in Q4 2024, and that of four-room flats was S$1.06 million.
ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim expects the Mount Pleasant flats to be well-received, given the central location.
“(This) could help alleviate some of the housing demand in Toa Payoh,” he said. In the latest Sale of Balance exercise in February, four-room flats in the area drew an application rate of 4.2 from first-timer families.
Meeting demand
The minister also announced on Wednesday that the quota of three-room or larger flats set aside for second-timer families will be increased by five percentage points, from the next BTO exercise in July.
“We do not expect a significant impact on the application rate for first-timer families, as we are continuing to build more BTO flats to meet demand,” said Lee.
This year alone, more than 25,000 flats will be launched, and more than 50,000 BTO flats will be launched from 2025 to 2027, he said.
“We will continue to review our policies to see if there is scope to improve access further for different groups, such as singles,” he added. “We will (also) continue to keep an eye on income growth and market conditions, and will raise the income ceilings when the time is right.”
Separately, Minister of State for National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim gave further details on the enhanced Fresh Start Housing Scheme.
The scheme aims to help second-timer families with children living in public rental flats to own their own homes. Under the enhanced scheme, this group will receive a S$75,000 grant, up from S$50,000, when purchasing a new two or three-room HDB flat on a shorter lease of 45 to 65 years.
Most of the grant at S$60,000 will be disbursed into their CPF Ordinary Account before key collection. The remaining S$15,000 in tranches over the next five years after key collection.
The scheme will also extend to include first-timer families with children who live in public rental flats. As first-time homebuyers, these families will be eligible for the Enhanced Housing Grant of up to S$120,000. But, in turn, they will not receive the S$75,000 grant meant for second-timer rental families.
Altogether, enhancements to the scheme is estimated to cost the government an additional S$3 million a year.
The revised grant for second-timer households will take effect from the next BTO sales launch in July. Eligible first-timer families can apply for the scheme from April and start booking flats from the first BTO exercise in 2026.
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