Three-room and larger flats in Tampines and Toa Payoh emerged as the most sought-after units during the July 2026 HDB Built-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise, which closed on July 30. According to HDB’s portal at 5pm on the final day, more than 22,000 applications were received, marking a significant increase from the 13,200 applications in the February launch.

The surge in demand was highlighted by National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat in a Facebook post on Thursday, where he noted the sharp rise in interest, especially from first-time homebuyers.

In particular, Simei Symphony in Tampines drew close to 2,400 applications from both first- and second-time buyer families for the 240 four- and five-room standard flats on offer. For the 140 four-room units, over six first-timer families applied per flat, while the 100 five-room flats saw an even higher application rate of nearly eight applicants per unit. This development is the first in the area since Parc Lumiere, a DBSS project completed in 2011. It is conveniently located within walking distance of the Upper Changi MRT station and the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Toa Payoh Ascent, another standout project, also experienced strong demand. The development, located near Caldecott MRT interchange, attracted over 5,800 applications for its 741 units. Its 468 four-room flats proved especially popular with more than six applicants per unit from first- and second-timer families. The central location and convenient connectivity clearly made it a favourite among new buyers.

First-time singles also showed great interest in both developments. In Tampines, the 140 two-room flexi flats received nearly 42 applications per unit. Meanwhile, the 195 flexi flats in Toa Payoh saw over 18 applicants for each unit.

The Sembawang Beacon project, located in Sembawang North, also garnered attention with 905 applications for the 607 three-room and larger flats available. While not as competitive as the Tampines and Toa Payoh projects, it still showed steady interest from buyers.

Minister Chee noted that the median application rate for three-room and larger flats by first-time families was 1.4 in July, slightly higher than the 1.1 recorded in February, but lower than the 2024 launches which ranged from 1.6 to 2.6.

This July launch also marked the debut of HDB’s new Family Care Scheme (Proximity), designed to give both singles and married children or parents priority if they apply for flats to live together or near each other. Another component of this scheme, which allows singles to get priority if they jointly apply for flats with their parents in the same project, will take effect from the October sales exercise.

Two-room flexi flats continued to be highly popular among singles and seniors, with over 7,000 applications received for the 1,321 units offered across seven projects. The median application rate stood at 2.5 for seniors and 8.4 for singles.

Meanwhile, application interest in Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) among first-time families declined, with a median rate of 1.8 compared to 2.6 in February. Notably, three-room flats in areas like Ang Mo Kio, Geylang, and Jurong East/West received less than one application per available unit.

Looking ahead, HDB will offer around 9,100 flats in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bishan, Bukit Merah, Jurong East, Sengkang, Toa Payoh, and Yishun in its next sales launch in October.