May HDB BTO Tengah review

Among the May 2023 HDB BTO projects, a few have generated some buzz. One of them is the Tengah BTO located next to the new ACS (Primary) campus.

But this Tengah BTO isn't the only project launching in the town this round. A smaller BTO along Plantation Close will also be put up for balloting at the same time.

Note that at the application stage, you can only choose the flat type and town/estate, not the project. You can only choose the project when you're invited to book a flat.

May 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: At a glance

May 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: Price range and estimated monthly instalments

HDB hasn't released the price range yet. For now, here's SRX's estimations based on nearby resale transactions and launch prices from recent BTO launches.

Source: SRX. These estimations have been adjusted for differences in property age and location. If a launch is nearer to an MRT or commercial development, it’s likely to be more expensive.

Estimated downpayment, monthly instalments and income

Based on these pricing forecasts, we can estimate the downpayment, monthly instalments and household income needed to pay for the May 2023 Tengah BTO flat. These estimates are based on the following assumptions:

• An HDB loan is taken to maximise the 80per cent loan-to-value (LTV), given the latest changes in LTV
• The loan tenure is 25 years, with the current interest rate of 2.6 per cent
• A stress-test rate of three per cent is used to calculate the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR), which stipulates that up to 30per cent of your monthly household income can be used to pay the monthly instalments
• There is no other housing loan to service

To illustrate, we'll use the median of the price range and won't be taking into account any CPF grants or savings to be used.

May 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: Location and nearby amenities

*Disclaimer: Walking, public transport ride and driving durations are based on Google Maps estimates. Actual times may vary.

Accessibility

We like that both Plantation Close BTO and Tengah Park Avenue BTO are located around a five-minute walk of an MRT. Both Tengah Park MRT and Tengah MRT stations are located on the upcoming Jurong Region Line (JRL) and should be ready from 2027 onwards, barring any delays.

If you rely heavily on public buses, you may find the Tengah Park Avenue BTO more convenient as it's located right across the street from the upcoming bus interchange. This means you have more bus routes to choose from.

Both BTO projects are also within reach of the PIE, making it more convenient for drivers. But this may be more of a bane for those living at Plantation Close BTO. Since it's located along the PIE, it can be pretty noisy even when there will be a proposed park (and most likely a multi-storey car park) acting as a buffer.

Food and retail amenities

Both May 2023 Tengah BTO are within easy reach of a neighbourhood centre, which are currently under construction. Notably, the Tengah Park Avenue BTO is located in the heart of Tengah, so it's also around a five-minute walk from the Tengah Town Centre.

Meanwhile, the Plantation Close BTO is located at the southern edge of Tengah, making it even closer to Jurong East. Since it will take some time for more amenities to be built up in Tengah, residents here may find this BTO more conveniently located as they can quickly head over to Jurong East for amenities that won't be available in Tengah yet.

Schools

Perhaps what's most attractive about this May 2023 Tengah BTO is that the Tengah Park Avenue BTO is located right next to the new ACS (Primary) campus that will move to the new town in 2030.

After all, it's very rare that we have a new BTO located next to a popular primary school.

A new SPED school will also be situated next to the school.

Besides ACS (Primary), there are a few school plots within a 1km radius of the BTO. But as of writing, we don't have much details on these apart from Bukit View Primary, which will be moving to Bukit Batok West in 2027.

The Plantation Close BTO isn't short on school options either. Firstly, Pioneer Primary is around a five-minute walk away (within a 1km radius) from the BTO when it moves to its new home in Tengah in 2026.

Other primary schools within one kilometre of Plantation Close BTO include:

• Princess Elizabeth Primary
• Jurong Primary

Besides the primary schools above, the following schools are located near the BTO:

• Jurongville Secondary
• Bukit Batok Secondary
• Eden School
• Dulwich College
• Millennia Institute

May 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: What’s the potential price appreciation?

As the newest HDB town, it will take several years for Tengah to be built up and for property prices here to appreciate.

Some major developments that should support price growth here include the Jurong Innovation District nearby, which is expected to bring in 95,000 jobs.

More specifically, the Tengah Park Avenue BTO is expected to garner higher demand and prices in future, given its proximity to the new ACS (Primary) campus. Those who die die want to enrol their kids into the school will want to buy (or rent) a unit here to increase their chances of getting a place in the school.

As we've seen over the years, properties near popular schools tend to command a higher premium. An NUS study also found that school relocations have led to price increases in the new area. So, you can expect to sell your unit at a higher price after the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).

(If you're thinking of keeping your unit to rent it out and upgrade to a private condo, note that there will be an added upfront cost of 20 per cent ABSD.)

As Tengah is still being developed, we don't have any resale price data here.

So we're just going to look at the neighbouring areas of the BTO: Jurong East (which is near Plantation Close BTO) and Bukit Batok (which is near Tengah Park Avenue BTO).

Generally over the past 10 years, three-room HDB resale flats in Jurong East have seen a price increase of 7.95 per cent. This is lower than the general price increase of 18.74 per cent for the flat type in non-mature estates. Meanwhile, three-room HDB flats in Bukit Batok have clocked an even higher increase of 19.73 per cent, as there are a number of resales of recently MOPed flats, such as West Crest @ Bukit Batok.

The higher price increase in Bukit Batok is even more pronounced among the four-room and five-room flats there, recording price increases of 31.03 per cent and 38.46 per cent respectively in the last decade.

Meanwhile, four-room and five-room resale flats in Jurong East have seen a relatively lower price increase (9.35 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively), especially when compared to the price appreciation for the same flat types in non-mature estates (21.55 per cent and 24.4 per cent respectively).

Notably, the price increases are the highest in 2020 to 2022, reaching double-digit growths for the three flat types.

Here are the average resale prices in Jurong East so far this year, as of May 3, 2023:

And here are the average resale prices in Bukit Batok so far this year, as of May 3, 2023:

May 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: What are my chances of getting a queue number?

We would say it's pretty high because of the high number of flats offered in Tengah, totalling 2,950 units. Compared to the other estates in this launch, Tengah has the highest number of flats available for balloting. Plus, applicants applying for a flat here will be considered for units from both projects.

Let's look at the application rates of the previous launches near the May 2023 Tengah BTO. Garden Waterfront I & II and Plantation Creek are near the Plantation Close BTO, while Parc Flora is near the Tengah Park Avenue BTO.

2-room Flexi application rates

The application rate for first-timer families applying for Parc Flora seems more like an anomaly here, with 12.0 applicants vying for each two-room Flexi flat available to them.

3-room application rates

But in general, the application rates for first-timers applying three-room, four-room and five-room in the previous launches near the two projects were relatively low.

4-room application rates

5-room application rates

Like most BTO launches, it's harder for second-timers to secure a queue number, with application rates reaching double digits for most of the flat types.

However, with Tengah Park Avenue BTO being located right next to ACS (Primary), we expect application rates to be slightly higher than those in the previous launches. More applicants will be eager to buy a house near the popular primary school, with some hoping to sell it at a higher price when MOP comes around a decade later.

ALSO READ: 7 unique layout ideas for a 5-room point block HDB flat

This article was first published in 99.co.