HDB pilots new open concept ‘white flats’ in October BTO exercise
Compared to existing condos, these “white condos” are going to have contiguous living and bedroom space without beams or parting wall structures. The very first collection of such white apartments are going to be made available at the Kallang-Whampoa BTO plan, with 310 three- and four-room units.
“Public housing apartments that feature the white scheme can be a novelty for some buyers”, states Sunlight.
According to the HDB, the non-provision of inside dividing walls for such white flats will certainly be factored right into the prices. Property buyers may choose into the brand-new style when they are invited to reserve their flat.
HDB will pilot a brand-new open approach design in the October Built-To-Order (BTO) activity, declared Desmond Lee, Minister of Nationwide Development, at a spiel on May 27.
In spite of this, Sun predicts that any potential price variation would certainly not be substantial as the design of non-structural dividers is less expensive.
He mentions that those who want to renovate their new level might also see cost benefits as they won’t need to have to demolish walls, unlike those acquiring the typical HDB apartments.
Nonetheless, she adds in that the new layout might have a possible disadvantage when selling the unit in the future as it can interest a smaller pool of buyers.
Christine Sun, chief investigator & strategist at OrangeTee Group, explains that such “white scheme” approaches that provide homebuyers the option to personalize the design of their units were available just in upscale exclusive homes prior to.
A good example is Far East Organization’s Inessence brand of ultra-luxury houses, like Alba, Boulevard Vue and Skyline @ Orchard Blvd in the prime communities of Orchard Roadway. The “white plan” concept enabled customers to customise their units.
As an example, four-room apartments nowadays have 3 bed rooms. Young couples with no kids yet may not want all three bedrooms currently. A white flat allows them to partition the area with furniture pieces or glass dividers. Later on, when they have children, the space could be repurposed, and the bedrooms added, adds Lim.
“It allows the layout of the HDB flat to be tailor-maked and re-configured as household may need modification,” remarks Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Singapore.
