Tampines, Toa Payoh BTO flats are the most popular picks for first-timers in July's launch

Flats in Tampines and Toa Payoh were the most popular among first-time home buyers in the latest Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise.

- Isabelle Liew

For three-room and larger BTO flats, there was a median of 1.4 first-timer families applying for each unit, according to Housing Board figures as at 5pm on July 30.

National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post that the first-timer family application rate in the latest exercise was slightly higher than the 1.1 in February's exercise.

But the rate was lower than that of the three sales launches in 2024, which ranged from 1.6 to 2.6, he added.

Mr Chee said that as at 5pm, there were about 22,000 BTO applications, higher than the 13,200 applications received in the February sales exercise.

Applications show that the most popular units were the four- and five-room flats at Simei Symphony in Tampines. The project had nearly eight first-time applicants vying for each of the 100 five-room flats, and more than six first-timers for each of the 140 four-room units.

Simei Symphony, located in Simei Road and Upper Changi Road East, is among four Standard projects on offer in July.

Flats in these projects will not have additional restrictions upon resale, and come with a minimum occupation period (MOP) of five years instead of the 10 years for Plus and Prime projects.

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at real estate firm Huttons Asia, said there was pent-up demand for the Simei BTO project as it is the first public housing project in the area in more than 10 years.

He added that the firm demand for five-room flats as well as the project's proximity to Upper Changi MRT station could have contributed to high application rates. The Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore Expo and Changi Business Park are also located near the development.