Waterway Terraces a hit with homebuyers

HDB’s latest BTO project in Punggol – Waterway Terraces – is proving to be a big hit for homebuyers.

Some 5,600 buyers had indicated their interest to acquire one of the five-room units available, more than 18 times the number of such units being offered. The demand was also high for a four-room unit, with over 7,000 applications received for the 588 available units.

Three-room flats were also popular with homebuyers. Almost 1,000 applications were received for the 178 available flats. The total application rate of 12.4 times for Waterway Terraces is the highest for any BTO project in two years.

Featuring an eco-friendly and award-winning design, Waterway Terraces is Singapore’s first public waterfront housing project. It is located near Punggol MRT station.

Mr. Nicholas Mak, a lecturer from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, said that the strong demand for the waterfront living project was not surprising.

"Residents recognise that future HDB BTO projects may not be located that near to the waterway or that near to the Punggol town centre. So, if they were to buy now, even at the current price, the present price may still be lower than future BTO projects," said Mr. Mak.

Two other BTO projects were released in Sengkang - Fernvale Foilage and Rivervale Arc – at the same time. However, they were less in demand from buyers, with only 3,260 applications received for the 1,624 available units.

HDB explained that it "had expected strong interest for the Waterway Terraces flats."

As for the two BTO projects in Sengkang, the HDB said: "The absolute number of applicants for Fernvale Foliage and Rivervale Arc in Sengkang are comparable with previous BTO launches in Sengkang. Flat buyers who are in an urgent need of a flat and have applied for the flats in Sengkang would have a higher chance of securing a flat given the lower application rate."