A review of February 2023 Queenstown HDB BTO

Around 730 units of 3-room and 4-room units in Queenstown will be available for balloting in the February 2023 BTO sales exercise.

It’s also the second BTO project in Dover Forest, after the launch of the Ulu Pandan Banks BTO in the November 2022 BTO. If you didn’t get a queue number then, here’s your second chance.

February 2023 Queenstown HDB BTO: At a glance

Location	Along Commonwealth Avenue West and Ghim Moh Link
Classification	Mature estate
Flat types and number of units	730 units of 3-room, 4-room
Estimated price for a 4-room flat	S$550k – S$725k
Estimated waiting time	TBC
Estimated completion date	TBC
Nearest MRT	Dover MRT
Notable amenities	The Star Vista, Rochester Mall, Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre, Holland Village, Alexandra Hospital, NUH, NUS

February 2023 Queenstown 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	$360k – $500k
4-room	$550k – $725k

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 Queenstown 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 3per 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	$430,000	$344,000	$86,000	$1,560.62	$5,437.63
4-room	$637,500	$510,000	$127,500	$2,313.71	$8,061.60

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

What we noticed about the February 2023 Queenstown HDB BTO

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

We believe this will be a Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) project because of its proximity to Dover MRT. Plus, this Queenstown BTO site is next to the Ulu Pandan Banks BTO, a PLH project launched in the November 2022 BTO exercise. So they share the same amenities nearby (as well as the pros and cons).

Here’s where you want to ballot if you want those unblocked views of the landed housing estate across the Ulu Pandan Canal.

February 2023 Queenstown HDB BTO: The pros

Accessibility

This Queenstown BTO is one of the sites in this launch that’s closest to the MRT, with Dover MRT just around an eight-minute walk. You’re also just a stop from Buona Vista MRT, where you can switch to the Circle Line.

For drivers, the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) is a couple of streets away, where you can connect to the Central Expressway (CTE) and Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE).

Do note that the Ulu Pandan area will be a car-lite precinct. The good thing about this is that there will be sheltered elevated linkways to Dover MRT (especially helpful when it’s sunny, and when it’s raining), walking and cycling paths (yay to not sharing the walkway with cyclists!).

But this also means parking spaces will be limited, with season parking reduced and restricted for residents only.

Food and retail amenities

We like that these amenities will be available within the Ulu Pandan precinct. As announced by HDB back in October 2022, there will be retail shops, eateries and a supermarket to cater to residents’ needs. This makes it even more convenient for you, as you can simply head downstairs to buy food when you don’t feel like cooking.

At the same time, you’ll have plenty of options if you want to venture further on foot (by further, we mean a 20-minute walk of this Queenstown BTO).

Affordable options include NTUC Fairprice and Sheng Shiong Supermarket (around a six-minute walk), as well as the Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre (a 10-minute walk).

More atas options are Star Vista (a nine-minute walk), Rochester Mall (a 13-minute walk) and Holland Village (around a 20-minute walk).

Schools

Here, you’ll also find that the area has lots of schools of various levels. It’s ideal not just for those with school-going kids, but also adults pursuing post-grad and professional certificates (#lifelonglearning). Schools in the area include:

• Henry Park Primary
• Fairfield Methodist Primary and Secondary
• New Town Secondary
• School of Science and Technology
• Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)
• Anglo-Chinese JC
• Singapore Polytechnic
• NUS
• ESSEC Business School
• INSEAD

Plus, if you’re thinking of sending your kids to an international school, there are two of them in the area:

• Dover Court Preparatory School
• United World College of South East Asia

If we’re being picky, the not-so-good thing is that there’s only one primary school within 1km, which is Henry Park Primary.

Healthcare facilities

This Queenstown BTO is around an eight-minute drive from two hospitals: Alexandra Hospital and National University Hospital (NUH).

According to the BTO map, there’s also a proposed health and medical centre next to the site, but currently, we don’t have much details about it.

February 2023 Queenstown HDB BTO: The cons

No 5-room flats (and flats here will potentially be smaller too)

If you’ve been following the BTO launches for the past few years like us, you would have noticed that there haven’t been 5-room flats launched in central locations such as Queenstown.

On top of that, with this Queenstown BTO most likely to be a PLH project, flats here will be smaller. For instance, a 4-room flat at Ulu Pandan Banks BTO has a floor area of 89 sqm (958 sq ft), smaller than the typical 4-room BTO flat size of 93 sqm (1,001 sq ft).

If you’re looking for a 5-room BTO flat this time, the only option is the Tengah BTO.

Alternatively, you can always consider resale flats.

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

Over the past 10 years, 3-room and 4-room resale HDB flats in Queenstown have seen a price appreciation of 14.91 per cent. Interestingly, this is lower than the 16.41per cent price increase for 3-room and 4-room flats across mature estates.

Nevertheless, the average price of flats in Queenstown has generally remained above the average flat price across mature estates.

As we examine the price appreciation for the respective flat types, we find that 4-room flats in Queenstown generally have appreciated faster at 16.80per cent in the last 10 years, three times the price increase for 3-room flats. The price gap has also widened over the years.

Here are the average resale prices so far this year, as of Feb 6, 2023:

Flat type	Average price psf	Average price
3-room	$629	$442,585
4-room	$827	$827,940

In fact, two 4-room units at Ghim Moh Edge, a BTO opposite this site, were sold above $1 million last year, shortly after it hit the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).

Plus, future developments in the area should support price growth. For instance, there’s the Holland Village Extension, where you can expect new retail and public spaces, and the upcoming One Holland Village integrated development.

In the south, there’s Dover Knowledge District, which is an extension of one-north. It’s set to offer vibrant spaces for work, academic and research institutions.

At the same time, it’s hard to say how much owners here can sell the flat in future. This is because this Queenstown BTO is most likely a PLH project, so they come with restrictions such as the 10-year MOP and income ceiling for resale buyers to curb the lottery effect.

This article was first published in 99.co.