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| | | | | | | SINGAPORE : Singapore's first public housing project undertaken by a private developer has got off to a flying start.
A day before applications close, nearly 5,700 people have applied for flats at The Premiere@Tampines.
This means, for every unit for sale, at least nine people are waiting in line.
Sim Lian Group had not anticipated such response for a housing development project that has not been tried before in Singapore.
In this project, they had tendered for a piece of HDB land and won the bid to build flats there based on their design.
They were also allowed to sell the flats to the public, subject to HDB's eligibility criteria.
"We expected a good response to The Premiere at Tampines but we did not expect such overwhelming response," says Diana Kuik, executive director of Sim Lian Land.
The online application for these flats will close on Wednesday, midnight.
For the developer, which has been in the construction business for the past 30 years, this project was a new experience.
One of the challenges was to price the units competitively and within the reach of HDB heartlanders.
"For a private condo, say a 99-year leasehold condo of the same size, about 1,200 sq ft, it would easily cost an additional $150,000 to $200,000 more. Based on our calculation, it is not possible to build a private condo at DBSS (Design, Build & Sell Scheme) pricing. (ItÂ’s only possible) simply because we are building this DBSS project on HDB land," says Kuik.
The online applications will be balloted in mid-November, and successful applicants will be invited to select their flats at the end of next month.
The 616-unit development at the junction of Tampines Avenue 5 and 6 will comprise a mix of two, four and five-room flats.
The fully-furnished flats are expected to be ready in 2009. - CNA /ls |
