HDB pilots new open concept ‘white flats’ in October BTO exercise
HDB will pilot a new open approach layout in the October Built-To-Order (BTO) exercise, reported Desmond Lee, Minister of National Development, at a spiel on May 27.
“Public housing flats that come with the white scheme can be an original for some prospective buyers”, says Sun.
In contrast to existing apartments, these “white flats” are going to have contiguous living and bedroom spot without columns or dividers walls. The very first set of such white apartments will be offered at the Kallang-Whampoa BTO project, with 310 three- and four-room units.
He mentions that those who want to refurbish their brand-new flat can also see expense savings as they will not need to have to break wall surfaces, unlike those acquiring the basic HDB flats.
However, she includes that the new layout might have a possible drawback when marketing the unit in the future as it can interest a smaller pool of homebuyers.
For instance, four-room flats today have 3 bed rooms. Young pairs without kids yet might not require all 3 bed rooms currently. A white flat lets them to parting the area with furniture or glass partitions. Down the road, when they have youngsters, the area can be repurposed, and the rooms created, adds Lim.
“It lets the format of the HDB flat to be tailor-maked and re-configured as household needs change,” comments Eugene Lim, major executive officer at ERA Singapore.
Christine Sun, primary analyst & strategist at OrangeTee Group, points out that such “white strategy” approaches that offer property buyers the option to customise the layout of their units were offered only in upscale exclusive homes prior to.
An example is Far East Organization’s Inessence label of ultra-luxury homes, like Alba, Boulevard Vue and Skyline @ Orchard Boulevard in the prime neighborhoods of Orchard Road. The “white plan” strategy enabled buyers to personalise their units.
Despite this, Sun forecasts that any type of potential price variation would not be substantial as the building of non-structural wall structures is less costly.
According to the HDB, the non-provision of internal dividers wall structures for such white flats will be factored right into the rates. Homebuyers might choose into the brand-new style when they are invited to make a reservation for their flat.
