A review of February 2023 Jurong West HDB BTO

A review of February 2023 Jurong West HDB BTO

In this February 2023 HDB BTO exercise, we have two BTO projects launching in the west. One of them is at Jurong West, with an estimated 270 units of 3-room and 4-room flats.

February 2023 Jurong West HDB BTO: At a glance

Location	Along Jurong West Street 93
Classification	Non-mature estate
Flat types and number of units	270 units of 3-room, 4-room
Estimated price for a 4-room flat	$300k – $360k
Estimated waiting time	TBC
Estimated completion date	TBC
Nearest MRT	Pioneer MRT
Notable amenities	Jurong West Sports Centre, Yunnan Park, Pioneer Mall, Jurong West Hawker Centre, Pioneer Polyclinic, Jurong Point, NTU, Yunnan Garden

February 2023 Jurong West 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.

Flat type	Indicative price range
3-room	$200k – $250k
4-room	$300k – $360k

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 February 2023 Jurong West BTO flat. These estimates are based on the following assumptions:

• An HDB loan is taken to maximise the 80 per cent loan-to-value (LTV), given the latest cooling measures
• The loan tenure is 25 years, with the current interest rate of 2.6 per cent
• A stress-test rate of 3 per cent is used to calculate the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR), which stipulates that up to 30 per 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.

Flat type	Median price	Loan amount (80 per cent)	Min. downpayment (20 per cent)	Estimated monthly instalment (with 2.6 per cent interest rate)	Estimated monthly household income (with 3 per cent stress-test)
3-room	$225,000	$180,000	$45,000	$816.61	$2,845.27
4-room	$330,000	$264,000	$66,000	$1,197.69	$4,173.07

Looking to take out a bank loan instead? Contact our mortgage broker to get the best rates.

What we noticed about the February 2023 Jurong West HDB BTO

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

This Jurong West BTO is one of the projects in this launch that’s within walking distance of the MRT. But here’s also where the MRT tracks of the East-West Line are elevated. For better or worse, this BTO plot is along the MRT track. So it will be noisy if you’re getting a unit facing the track.

And with only around 270 units, this Jurong West BTO is the smallest project in the February 2023 BTO launch. So it may be harder to get a queue number here. One tip we have to increase your BTO chances is to monitor the application rate throughout the week before submitting the ballot.

February 2023 Jurong West HDB BTO: The pros

Accessibility

The Jurong West BTO is just a six-minute walk of Pioneer MRT. It’s one stop to Boon Lay MRT, which will be an interchange for the East-West Line and Jurong Region Line. Here’s also where you can switch lines to get to the other parts of Jurong, such as Jurong Lake District.

For drivers, the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) are just a couple of streets away.

Note that this BTO is located at the edge of the residential area in the west of Singapore. If you don’t mind the long commuting time to other parts of the island, this is an affordable option to consider.

Food and retail amenities

Pioneer Mall and Jurong West Hawker Centre are around a 10-minute walk away. The hawker centre will reopen in Q3 this year after a makeover.

Another option within walking distance is the neighbourhood centre at Jurong West Street 91, where you can find some eateries and Prime Supermarket.

For a wider range of options, you can always head to Jurong Point.

Schools

If you’re planning to have kids, you’ll be pleased to know that there are several primary and secondary schools nearby.

Primary schools within 1km of the Jurong West BTO include:

• Jurong West Primary and MOE Kindergarten
• Frontier Primary and MOE Kindergarten
• Xingnan Primary
• West Grove Primary (some blocks may fall outside the 1km radius)

(On the BTO map, there’s also Pioneer Primary, which was merged with Juying Primary at the start of 2022. While it’s also within 1km of this BTO site, we’re not including it as it will move to Tengah in 2025.)

Other schools nearby include:

• Corporation Primary
• Westwood Primary and MOE Kindergarten
• Juying Secondary
• Jurong West Secondary
• Boon Lay Secondary
• River Valley High
• One World International School
• NTU

A plus point is that this Jurong West BTO is around a 20-minute bus ride to NTU. So this BTO presents a good rental opportunity if you’re thinking of renting out your room or HDB flat to students in future.

Sports facilities

Another highlight of this BTO is its proximity to Jurong West Sports Centre (a three-minute walk). A wide range of sports facilities are clustered here, including a stadium, sports hall, swimming pools and tennis courts.

So this makes for an ideal home if you want to live near sports facilities, but find the Kallang/ Whampoa BTO (Jalan Rajah BTO and Farrer Park BTO) too expensive.

February 2023 Jurong West HDB BTO: The cons

No 5-room flats

Interestingly, this Jurong West BTO won’t have any 5-room flats. So it’s more for couples and families with one or two kids.

The only 5-room option in this February 2023 BTO is at the Tengah BTO.

February 2023 Jurong West HDB BTO: What’s the potential price appreciation?

Generally, the average price of 3-room and 4-room resale flats in Jurong West has risen by 11.71per cent in the last 10 years. However, this price increase is lower than resale flats of the same flat types in non-mature estates. One likely reason for this is its location in the westernmost part of Singapore.

When we compare the resale prices psf of 3-room and 4-room flats in Jurong West, we find that there’s not much price difference between the two flat types. This is unlike the price trends we’ve seen in the other HDB estates such as Kallang/ Whampoa and Queenstown, where the price psf of 4-room flats is way higher than that of 3-room flats.

Here are the average resale prices so far this year, as of Feb 7, 2023:

Flat type	Average price psf	Average price
3-room	$493	$353,074
4-room	$472	$491,939

Major developments in the area are the three new employment hubs in the west: Jurong Lake District, Jurong Innovation District and Tuas Port.

Jurong Lake District is set to be the largest business district outside the city centre, while Jurong Innovation District will be a hub for advanced manufacturing and industrial-academia collaborations. Meanwhile, Tuas Port, which officially opened last year, is expected to be the world’s biggest fully automated port when it’s fully operational by 2040s.

These future developments will help support price growth, as more jobs will be created here. At the same time, if you’re thinking of becoming a landlord in future, this BTO will provide some rental opportunities.

This article was first published in 99.co.