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Six days after 680 four-room public housing flats at River Peaks in Rochor were put up for sale, a total of 6,150 applications have been received, representing a oversubscription rate of over nine times.

Sale of three-room and four-room Housing and Development Board flats for River Peaks I and II in the heart of Singapore was launched on Nov. 17.

Oversubscription obvious by end of first day of applications

Over the course of the first day of the sale, demand was already evidently red hot as 3,158 applicants were vying for the four-room flats.

Demand for three-room flats were far fewer, but also high, with 356 applicants vying for the 280 units by the end of the first day.

But the number of applicants rose to 749 by Nov. 23.

Second-timers flood into market

For the four-room flats, second-timers form a bulk of applicants, at 90.8 times, compared to 4.7 times for first-timers.

The deadline for application is on Nov. 23 2021, 11:59pm.

Why the popularity?

The sites of River Peaks I and II are next to Jalan Besar MRT station and a five-minute drive to City Hall and 13-minute walk from Dhoby Ghaut.

Good floor area

Even though 960 flats will be built across two developments comprising a total of six 47-storey residential blocks, the floor area of each unit is substantial and not compromised.

The three-room flats have an estimated unit size of 66sqm each.

The four-room flats have an estimated unit size of 88sqm each.

Prices start from S$409,000, without grants, for a three-room flat, and S$582,000 for a four-room flat.

The project is estimated to be completed only in the second quarter of 2028.

Resale potential

The Rochor BTO project is the first to come under the new prime location public housing (PLH) model.

Currently, the imposition of stricter buying and selling conditions on flat owners has not materialised and its effects are still effectively completely unknown.

Even though owners of these Rochor flats must pay 6 per cent of the resale price or valuation, whichever is higher, to HDB when they sell their homes on the open market for the first time in the future, any clawing back of such a sum of money could theoretically only represent a fraction of realised profits about two decades down the road when the minimum occupation period has been fulfilled and property prices continue to rise.

The inability to put the whole flat up for rent after 10 years, unlike other flat owners who can do so after five years under current rules, might not even be an issue.

Rental yields, derived from renting out spare bedrooms — subjected to HDB approval — can be attractive owing to the residence’s proximity to the city centre and the general concentration of amenities in the area.

Top photo via Google Maps & HDB

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