2010's last BTO project launched in Punggol

by S Ramesh
05:55 AM Dec 23, 2010

SINGAPORE - The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has launched its last Build-To-Order (BTO) project for this year, the Punggol Topaz, with 1,010 standard flats. With the launch yesterday, the HDB would have offered 17,713 new flats under the BTO and Sale of Balance Flat exercise this year.

Punggol Topaz, located along Punggol Way and Punggol Field, comprises 184 three-bedroom units, 542 four-bedroom and 284 five-bedroom flats, with 95 per cent of the flats set aside for first-timers. The facilities there will include a supermarket, an eating house, shops, a child care centre and a Residents' Committee Centre.

The Punggol MRT/LRT station, bus interchange and future town centre are nearby. Tampines Expressway and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway are a short drive away.

In line with the HDB's plans to develop Punggol as an eco-town, Punggol Topaz is designed for Green Mark Certification.

The layout of blocks and units is oriented to minimise heat gain from the sun. It will have features such as dry ponds and rain gardens, which help to maintain the quality of surface run-off from rainwater before it is discharged into the drainage system.

Selling prices for the flats range from $166,000 to $207,000 for three-bedroom units, $267,000 to $329,000 for four-bedroom and $335,000 to $406,000 for five-bedroom flats.

PropNex corporate communications manager Adam Tan said: "Compared with our transactions in PropNex for November 2010, the prices for the 4-room and 5-room flats in Punggol Topaz are 25 per cent and 19 per cent cheaper than prevailing resale prices."

Next year, the HDB is prepared to launch up to 22,000 new BTO flats, if demand is sustained. It will launch about 5,000 BTO flats - in towns such as Bukit Panjang, Jurong West, Yishun and Sengkang - in the first quarter.

The next BTO launch in January will offer 1,700 flats in Bukit Batok and Yishun.

Source: www.todayonline.com