Nothing makes you feel like you're adulting more than purchasing your very own home. A home is probably the most expensive thing you'll buy in your lifetime - no other purchases could actually come even this close. That makes choosing and buying a home an extremely important decision. Naturally, the BTO route is probably the most popular choice among first-time homebuyers as there are tons of schemes and grants that first-timers could enjoy from purchasing their first home.

You know I really wish back in 2019 when I was choosing my BTO, I ever had the notion of how making the right choices in my property could actually help me have a better life ahead, an "easier time" essentially. I wish I was savvy enough to understand property concepts or at least be fortunate enough to read an article about someone's decision to buy a BTO and almost cancelling it. I guess if you are deciding on whether to BTO or not, maybe you'd want to take a look at that article before committing.

HDB has rolled out a new categorisation of BTO flats in line with shifting real estate landscape and to meet Singaporeans' housing needs and aspirations. BTO launched from October 2024 onwards will be categorised by their locational attributes.

Source: HDB

This new categorisation will replace the existing mature and non-mature estates. The most notable change is that homes that are marked Prime or Plus will face stricter resale conditions, such as a 10-year MOP and subsidy clawback upon selling.

Singles above the age of 35 rejoice with the lifting of restriction preventing them from applying for BTO two-room flexi flats in mature estates. Now singles are able to apply for two-room flexi flats in any location for BTO projects as long as they do not exceed the income ceiling of $7,000.

This lift kicked in alongside the change in housing categorisation in October 2024's BTO launch and we saw how positive this move was with the overwhelming demand from singles for two-room flexi flats. It was oversubscribed with more than 26 applicants contesting for a unit, with 1,920 of such flats available.

The government introduced new cooling measures in August 2024 in order to cool the HDB resale market. The Loan-To-Value limit was lowered from 80 per cent to 75 per cent.

What it essentially means is that you can only loan up to 75 per cent of your home's value. Say if you were to buy a $600,000 BTO flat, the maximum loan you are able to undertake for this purchase is $450,000. This move would see both HDB and private properties having the same LTV limit.

Lowering the LTV limit means that buyers will have to make a larger down payment and it will prevent them from overleveraging and buying a house that is out of their reach.

Along with the cooling measures released in August 2024, the government also announced some good news for first-time home buyers in the lower to middle income bracket. This group of buyers are now able to receive enhanced grants under the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG).

Prior to this announcement, couples and singles had a maximum grant of $80,000 and $40,000 under the EHG scheme respectively. Now this amount has increased to $120,000 and $60,000 for first-time home buyers buying their first BTO or resale flat. The increase in grant would benefit about 85 per cent of first-time buyers.

With the launch of Crawford Heights, a new Prime BTO project in Kallang/Whampoa, HDB introduced the newly minted "white flat" layout. It is essentially a home without beams or partitions and you are free to configure your home based on your needs and likings.

Source: HDB

On top of that, we saw the first two BTO projects that were launched in Bayshore in October. Both projects will feature homes with full-height windows for those units overlooking East Coast Park for the seafront views, and also city views for those units facing Bedok.

Source: HDB

With all the changes made in 2024, I suppose it's quite exciting especially for the new home hopefuls in this upcoming February new home launch, which is expected to see more than 10,000 units up for grabs. It is made up of 5,000 BTO units and 5,500 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) - an unusually large number of SBF units. I really wonder how many of these 5,500 were couples who couldn't survive the BTO wait and broke up. What other housing milestones will we see this year?

Serving up a 100k by 2025

HDB is on track to deliver its promise on launching 100,000 flats by this year. A total of 25,000 new flats will be launched this year, so for those who are looking for a new home, I suppose there are plenty of opportunities. It was also announced recently that 50,000 flats will be launched from 2025 to 2027.

Blueprints to the Future

Source: MND

We will also get a glimpse into the future of Singapore's landscape development with the upcoming Draft Master Plan 2025, where a detailed vision for land use and development in Singapore over the next 10 to 15 years.

Driving the four key theme:

• Shape a happy healthy city

• Enable sustainable growth

• Strengthen urban resilience

• Steward our nature and heritage

We may possibly see exciting developments such new homes and amenities in Newton, transformation of the former Jurong Bird Park and Jurong Hill, and even more plans to our Rail Corridor which stretches from the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station to Woodlands - as it potentially connects 1 million residents within a 1km radius.

With so many changes already implemented and even more on the horizon, which one excites you the most? Will you be BTO-ing in this upcoming February launch? Or perhaps living in a condominium is more your thing?

Views expressed in this article belong to the writer(s) and do not reflect PropNex's position.