IT HAS been years since public flats generated such interest.
In fact, compared to the lukewarm responses towards its offerings in recent years - the HDB has about 6,000 unsold flats - reaction to The Premiere@Tampines has been positively sizzling.
The numbers showed just how much interest there was in the first batch of public flats put on sale by a private developer: 45,600 came to take a peek, and 5,700 were impressed enough to submit an application - for just 616 units.
Applications closed at midnight, and those who applied now have to await the next stage - finding out if they are successful in the balloting exercise.
A big reason for the surge in interest in these flats was features not seen before in HDB offerings, such as built-in wardrobes, air-conditioning units and generous balconies.
The combination of condo-like features and HDB-like pricing - the two-, four- and five-room units were priced from $138,000 to $450,000 - proved irresistible.
Most of the units on offer were five-room units, ranging in size from 105 sq m to 114 sq m. These will fetch between $308,000 and $450,000.
There are eight 17-storey blocks in the project, which is expected to be ready by 2009.
The sale is being watched closely by the Housing Board, which had said a future site will be announced later.
The Premiere is an experiment by the Government to give private developers a greater role in public housing. Sim Lian Land, which clinched the plot earlier this year through a tender, was given a free hand with the design, building and pricing of the flats.
But it had to meet certain conditions for public housing.
Thus, the flats must be sold only to family units, the ethnic quota must be maintained, and buyers' household income must be $8,000 a month or below.
However, individuals who have bought a flat directly from the HDB before need not pay a resale levy when they buy a unit at The Premiere.
And, like HDB flats, these units can be bought with government housing grants for first-timers.
According to Sim Lian executive director Diana Kuik, about 60 per cent of the applicants were buying their first flat, while one-third of them are Tampines residents.
Sales manager Hilda Tan, 24, and her fiance had been house-hunting for about half a year and were even considering buying a condominium unit. They were drawn to The Premiere as it was located near Tampines town centre, and for its condo-like features.
Another applicant, accounts assistant Rina Tan, 38, would not have thought of changing homes had The Premiere not turned up. She lives near the site but is worried that 'with so many applicants, my chances look slim'.
tanhy@sph.com.sg
