TECH – Singapore’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) is preparing to offer 1,310 new Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in Sembawang this November, giving prospective homeowners an opportunity to secure public housing with a waiting period of less than three years. The development, named Sembawang Anchor, will be part of the government’s latest efforts to make new homes available sooner amid continued demand for affordable housing. Cited from The Straits Times, the project will have an estimated waiting time of just two years and 10 months, making it one of Singapore’s shorter-waiting-time housing developments.
Located in the emerging Sembawang North residential district, between Admiralty Lane and Sembawang Drive, the project will consist of six residential blocks. Buyers will be able to choose from several housing options, including two-room Flexi, three-room, four-room, and five-room flats. One of the blocks will also incorporate rental units alongside flats available for purchase.
Future residents can expect convenient access to everyday facilities, with a preschool, eating house, supermarket, and retail shops planned within the development. A new neighbourhood centre and an adjacent one-hectare park are also planned nearby, providing additional shopping, dining, and recreational opportunities. Existing amenities in the surrounding area include Sembawang Mart, Sun Plaza, and Bukit Canberra, which features a hawker centre, polyclinic, swimming pool, and indoor sports facilities.
Sembawang is not the only location offering homes with relatively short construction periods. Two additional developments in Bayshore and Tengah will also be included in November’s sales exercise, offering a combined 2,875 flats with estimated waiting times of three years and two months.
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The Bayshore Oasis project in Bedok will provide 855 two-room Flexi and four-room units, while Plantation Dew in Tengah will offer 710 flats ranging from two-room Flexi to five-room and three-generation configurations. Plantation Dew will also introduce open-concept White Flats, allowing homeowners to customise their interior layouts without predetermined partition walls between living and bedroom areas.
According to HDB, the November launch will include approximately 7,960 flats across seven projects in Sembawang, Bayshore, Tengah, Bedok, Geylang, Toa Payoh, and Yishun.
The latest housing initiative also supports Singapore’s broader commitment to increasing the availability of shorter-waiting-time flats. With 4,661 such units launched in 2026, HDB has exceeded its original target of 4,000 for the year, bringing the total offered since 2025 to 9,351. The agency is working toward its goal of providing 12,000 shorter-waiting-time flats between 2025 and 2027.
Another notable change concerns eligibility requirements. The November sales exercise will introduce revised income ceilings of S$16,000 for families and S$8,000 for eligible singles, potentially allowing more Singaporeans to qualify for subsidised public housing.
With improved housing availability, shorter construction schedules, and additional eligibility opportunities, the upcoming November launch could attract considerable interest from first-time buyers hoping to move into their homes sooner.
