HDB pilots new open concept ‘white flats’ in October BTO exercise
According to the HDB, the non-provision of internal partition walls for such white apartments will certainly be factored right into the rates. Homebuyers may decide right into the brand-new layout when they are welcomed to reserve their flat.
Christine Sun, primary investigator & strategist at OrangeTee Group, mentions that such “white strategy” concepts that give homebuyers the option to customise the design of their units were offered only in high-end private homes before.
Unlike existing condos, these “white condos” will definitely have contiguous living and bedroom spot without beams or dividers wall structures. The very first set of such white apartments will be made available at the Kallang-Whampoa BTO venture, with 310 three- and four-room units.
“Public housing apartments that feature the white plan can be a novelty for some buyers”, claims Sunlight.
A good example is Far East Company’s Inessence label of ultra-luxury residences, like Alba, Boulevard Vue and Skyline @ Orchard Blvd in the prime communities of Orchard Roadway. The “white plan” strategy enabled customers to personalise their units.
He explains that those who want to renovate their brand-new flat could also see price reductions as they won’t need to have to dismantle partitions, unlike those purchasing the typical HDB apartments.
Regardless of this, Sun predicts that any type of possible cost variation would not be considerable as the construction of non-structural walls is less expensive.
As an example, four-room flats these days have 3 rooms. Young couples without any kids yet might not want all 3 rooms currently. A white flat enables them to parting the space with furniture or glass partitions. Later on, when they have kids, the space can be repurposed, and the rooms added, adds Lim.
HDB is going to pilot a brand-new open concept format in the October Built-To-Order (BTO) exercise, revealed Desmond Lee, Minister of Nationwide Development, at a keynote on May 27.
“It allows the design of the HDB flat to be tailor-maked and re-configured as household wants adjustment,” remarks Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Singapore.
Nonetheless, she adds that the new format might have a potential drawback when offering the unit in the future as it can interest a smaller pool of homebuyers.
