A review of February 2023 Tengah HDB BTO
PHOTO: HDB
PUBLISHED ONFebruary 18, 2023 6:00 AMByVirginia Tanggono
The Tengah BTO will be the biggest project in the February 2023 HDB BTO launch, with around 1,640 units up for balloting (which means getting a queue number will be easier). It's also the only project to offer five-room flats in this launch.
February 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: At a glance
| Location | Along Tengah Boulevard, Brickland Crescent |
| Classification | Non-mature estate |
| Flat types and number of units | 1,640 units of 2-room Flexi, 3-room, 4-room, 5-room |
| Estimated price for a 4-room flat | $300k – $390k |
| Estimated waiting time | TBC |
| Estimated completion date | TBC |
| Nearest MRT | Choa Chu Kang West MRT, Keat Hong LRT |
| Notable amenities | Keat Hong Shopping Centre, Sunshine Place |
February 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.
| Flat type | Indicative price range |
| 3-room | $200k – $250k |
| 4-room | $300k – $390k |
| 5-room | $420k – $520k |
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 Tengah 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 three 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 | $345,000 | $276,000 | $69,000 | $1,252.13 | $4,362.73 |
| 5-room | $470,000 | $376,000 | $94,000 | $1,705.80 | $5,943.43 |
What we noticed about the February 2023 Tengah HDB BTO
Disclaimer: Walking, public transport ride and driving durations are based on Google Maps estimates. Actual times may vary.
As Tengah is still under development, there's nothing much to shout about the amenities here (for now), apart from being envisioned as a "forest town" and having a centralised cooling system.
That is, until last week, when MOE announced that ACS (Primary) will move to Tengah in 2030.
More importantly, if you're looking to apply for BTO this time around, you'll be glad to know that this Tengah BTO will be within two kilometres of the school. This gives you priority admission if you plan to enrol your kids there (yes, it will be open to girls too).
February 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: The pros
Food and retail amenities
The February 2023 Tengah BTO is located in the north-eastern edge of Tengah, far from the hub of the new town. But the good thing is that it's near Keat Hong, making it more convenient to get daily essentials as the amenities in Tengah are still being built up.
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The closest food and retail amenities for this BTO include Keat Hong Shopping centre (which has a wet market and a few kopitiams) and Sunshine Place (which has a 24-hour Giant supermarket).
There's a Transit Priority Corridor just next to the block, which connects you to Keat Hong by bus.
We also notice on the URA master plan that there's a commercial and residential plot next to this BTO plot. We don't know if it will be a BTO or condo.
But what this means is that you can expect more amenities such as eateries and retail shops (maybe a 24-hour supermarket?) closer to home.
Schools
Primary schools within one kilometre of this Tengah BTO include:
- Chua Chu Kang Primary
- St Anthony's Primary
But perhaps the highlight of this BTO (or Tengah, at least for now) is ACS (Primary) come 2030. Specifically, it will be located within two kilometres of the BTO. There will also be a SPED school next to the new campus.
Besides these schools, other schools nearby include:
- Concord Primary
- South View Primary
- Pioneer Primary (moving to Tengah in 2026)
- Unnamed primary school (it will be the second primary school in Tengah, opening in 2028)
- Bukit View Primary (moving to Bukit Batok West in 2027)
- Dunearn Secondary
- Swiss Cottage Secondary
- Bukit Panjang Government High
- APSN (Delta Senior School)
- ITE College West
On top of that, we notice two school plots opposite this BTO (within one kilometre) on the URA master plan. However, we currently don't know if these will be for new schools, or current schools that will be relocated.
Just a thought, but if we have a prime primary school such as ACS (Primary) getting relocated from Bukit Timah to Tengah, what's stopping the other ACS schools from moving to Tengah in the future as well? Just like how the Raffles schools have moved to Bishan over the years, starting with Raffles Institution in the 90s.
February 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: The cons
Accessibility
Right now, whenever you hear Tengah, you think about how ulu it is (despite tengah meaning centre or middle in Malay) and how it's very far from the city centre.
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Coupled with the fact that this February 2023 Tengah BTO is around a 15-minute walk to the nearest MRT, it loses points on accessibility. Especially when you compare it with other projects in the February 2023 BTO launch.
The nearest MRT is Choa Chu Kang West MRT on the Jurong Region Line and Keat Hong LRT. Both are around a 15-minute walk from the BTO, so you'll have to take the bus.
On the bright side, you can look forward to the upcoming Brickland MRT on the North-South Line. As of writing, we only know that it will be located between Bukit Gombak MRT and Choa Chu Kang MRT and will open in mid-2030s. A stretch of the track runs near the BTO site, but we currently don't know how near or far the station will be from it.
For drivers, two expressways are nearby: Kranji Expressway (KJE) via Brickland Road and Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) down south.
February 2023 Tengah HDB BTO: What's the potential price appreciation?
Since Tengah is still being developed, we don't have data on the resale prices here. So for now, we'll refer to the resale prices of two-room, three-room, four-room and five-room flats in the neighbouring area of Keat Hong.
Over the past 10 years, HDB flats in Keat Hong have appreciated by a whopping 44.94 per cent, mostly driven by BTO flats in the area that have hit their MOP and entered the resale market from 2020 onwards. The price increase is way higher than the average price of flats in non-mature estates.
Looking at the price increase among the flat types in Keat Hong, four-room and five-room flats have seen the biggest price increase of 40.50 per cent and 44.34 per cent, respectively, largely due to the BTO flats entering the resale market.
Given that the chart only shows data for two-room and three-room prices from 2020 onwards, it seems that there were no two-room and three-room flats being resold on the market before that year.
Here are the average resale prices in Keat Hong so far this year, as of Feb 13, 2023:
| Flat type | Average price psf | Average price |
| 3-room | $597 | $431,333 |
| 4-room | $532 | $538,491 |
| 5-room | $492 | $613,491 |
If you're thinking of selling your BTO flat in future, take note that it will take some time before property prices in Tengah increase, as it will take several years to build amenities here and for it to grow into a bustling town, like what we've seen for Punggol.
Other major developments in the area that will help support price growth in Tengah include Jurong Innovation District nearby, which is slated to bring 95,000 jobs. The opening of the Jurong Region Line and Brickland MRT on the North-South Line will also increase accessibility for residents, making it more attractive for people to move here.
And of course, the relocation of ACS (Primary) in 2030 will help push up property prices in the future, as parents who die die want to enrol their kids to the school will want to buy (or rent) a home within one kilometre or two kilometres of the school.