HDB adds 2,000 more units to BTO flat supply

The Housing and Development Board, HDB is bumping up its total launch of new flats this year to 27,000 units. 

That's an increase from the 25,000 originally planned for 2012. 

This is the biggest ever launch of new flats in a year.

The news comes as HDB announced it's offering over 7,000 flats for sale, today. 

More than half of them are from seven new Build-To-Order projects. 

They're located in Ang Mo Kio, Kallang, Tampines and in non-mature estates, Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands. 

Property analyst Eugene Lim says this latest offering is likely to put a lid on the prices of resale flats in mature towns. 

"Recently, after the one-million dollar flats grabbing the headlines, many flat-owners especially those in mature estates have raised their prices. So these launches are timely because it adds a lot of supply into the mature estates and this helps to prevent runaway price increases."

HDB's next BTO offering in November will see projects in other mature towns like Queenstown, Bedok and Toa Payoh. 

Mr Lim says, "Depending on the flat type and location, the price difference between these BTO flats and comparable resale units can be $60,000 - $130,000. 

And these resale flats are 12 to over 30 years old. 

For first-timers, this represents huge savings if they are able to wait for the 3 years or so for the BTO flats to be built.