In August this year, pre-buy HDB sales just started and the pre-buy condominium project in Tampines attracted buyers to purchase.

More than 10 people competed for a five-bedroom apartment, and the purchase rate of second-time buyers was as high as 81.2.

As of 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, there were 1,240 buyers competing for 117 five-bedroom units in the Sun Plaza Spring pre-owned HDB in Tampines.

This project, near Sun Plaza Park, has a short waiting period for a project expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026.

The four-bedroom units were equally popular, with an overall subscription rate of 9.8, 8.1 for first-time buyers and 45.1 for second-time buyers.

Ang Mo Kio Central Weave@AMK, a mature township project expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2028, has 372 five-bedroom units running on a family basis with an overall subscription rate of 6.8 and 398 four-bedroom units with a subscription rate of 4.3.

The two projects in Hung Shan, launched under the Prime Location Public Housing model, have a tentative subscription rate of 1.9 and 0.7 for 1,298 four-bedroom and 353 three-bedroom units respectively.

This time, the Housing Development Board launched seven pre-purchase HOS schemes with a total of 4,993 flats available for purchase, with waiting periods ranging from three to five or seven years.

The HDB has rarely offered five-bedroom flats in mature towns in recent years.

The Tampines and Ang Mo Kio projects, which are well-equipped and conveniently located, are highly sought after by buyers.

The Ang Mo Kio project is located close to the MRT station, with a good location and a lot of room for future appreciation. It is one of the factors that buyers favor, but the price is also high.

If they do not have to live in Ang Mo Kio, buyers will consider the cheaper Tampines project or even the Woodlands project in an immature town.

Although Ang Mo Kio is not a prime location project, an unsubsidized five-bedroom unit with a price tag of $877,000 is considered to be the highest priced pre-purchased unit.

On the other hand, the overall subscription rate for PLH was not as hot as expected.

The public tends to have a larger viability, and a series of restrictive measures such as the withdrawal of subsidies and the extension of the minimum residence period to 10 years have made more cautious buyers take a wait-and-see attitude.

Existing building technology allows the URA to build more apartments with higher floors and more space in prime locations.

The failure to launch five-bedroom units will cause buyers with this need to turn to the resale market, which will then lead to more million-dollar condominiums.

Among the immature towns, the Woodlands South Plains project in Woodlands, with 268 four-bedroom units, attracted 1,399 subscribers and an overall subscription rate of 5.2, with the second home buyer subscription rate approaching 20.