Sin Ming estate to get more than 900 new flats

SINGAPORE - More than 900 new Housing Board flats will be built along Sin Ming Road in Upper Thomson, in the first new flats to be launched for sale in the area since 1988.

The project – slated for completion in the second quarter of 2027 – will offer a total of 984 units across five residential blocks ranging from 22 to 28 storeys. It will also include a seven-storey carpark, social communal facilities and roof gardens, a signboard at the construction site showed.

Photos of the site were posted to social media platform Reddit on Tuesday. When The Straits Times visited the site next to Block 25 Sin Ming Road on Wednesday, construction works were under way.

ST understands that the Sin Ming flats will be launched as a Build-to-Order (BTO) project. BTO launches typically occur in February, May, August and November.

A check on HDB’s website showed that there will be no BTO launches in Bishan, where the Sin Ming project falls under, in the upcoming May and August launches.

Property analysts said the last HDB blocks completed in Sin Ming were in 1988, when 945 units were built along Sin Ming Avenue.

Huttons Asia senior director of research Lee Sze Teck said there could be pent-up demand for BTO flats in the area.

He expects the application rate for the Sin Ming project to fall between two and four – referring to the number of applicants vying for each of the units.

“It appears that HDB is building BTO flats in mature estates in advance so as to deliver it within a shorter time,” he added.

OrangeTee & Tie senior vice-president of research and analytics Christine Sun noted that the site is located near schools such as Catholic High School and Ai Tong School, as well as Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, which would contribute to demand.

“There is a lack of new flats in the area, and prices of new private homes in nearby districts such as Upper Thomson, Bishan, Ang Mo Kio, Marymount and Lentor are quite high,” she said.

The project could have a mix of two-room flexi, three-room and four-room flats, but bigger units like five-room and three-generation flats may not be offered to keep prices affordable, she added.

Mr Lee said four-room units at the project could be priced between $525,000 and $650,000, based on resale prices. Other four-room flats in Sin Ming, which are more than 30 years old, have transacted at $600,000 to $750,000.

The analysts said the Sin Ming project is unlikely to fall under the prime location public housing model, in which owners are subject to criteria such as a 10-year minimum occupation period.

ALSO READ: New HDB BTO launches in Singapore: May 2023

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.