It has been an emotionally draining week, seeing the numbers of applicants go higher and higher, with my chances of getting my flat lower and lower. I can’t help but keep refreshing the results page everyday at 8am, 11am, 2pm and 5pm everyday although the jump in numbers never fails to faze me. I can't help being obsessed about important things like that, and all I do is keep doing more research and getting more information to satisfy my curiosity. Knowledge is power, they say.
The final results for BTO and SBF were out at 2pm today, and the results will be known in mid-October for the BTO exercise and end-October for the Sale of balance flats. Selection of flats starts from November.
We have just started our quest for our own flat, and I have heard many horror stories of how many times people have failed in their balloting. It’s honestly ridiculous. In 2010, HDB released 17,700 new BTO flats. About 16,000 BTO flats have been released this year with 8,200 more for this September release and another 4,200 in November. Despite the 34,000 flats released in the past 20 months, almost 30,000 applicants applied for the September release! That would mean that more than 60,000 Singaporeans are waiting to buy flats?!
Anyway, we were contemplating between the Clementi and Queenstown (SBF), 4-room flats. Bukit Merah is out since it will definitely be ridiculously oversubscribed. There are 2 projects under Queenstown – Ghim Moh Valley and Strathmore Green. Both have already been completed and keys are available straightaway. The Clementi one is called Casa Clementi at Clementi Avenue 1, which TOP in August 2013 officially. However, rumours have it that it will be ready for keys collection in Q1 2012.
Since this will probably be our biggest purchase, we actually went down to all the sites to look-see before deciding which to go for. All 3 of them are about 0.8m or 10 minutes from the train station and consists of mainly left over flats from the SERS. I’m used to walking to the train station and I very much prefer walking than waiting/squeezing on buses, so I didn’t mind any of the 3 projects.
Strathmore Green is tucked deep inside Strathmore and it’s a very quiet neighborhood with all the older residents from the SERS already living there. It’s somewhat intimidating for the old people there knew each other by name! We took a lift up a random block just to take a look, and saw the residents there greeting each other by name. The flats were pretty tall, but did not seem to have much of a view (perhaps it was too dark at night?). We didn’t see many shops nearby, and bus-stops were a distance away too. We found it too quiet to our liking.
New stop was Ghim Moh Valley, and I actually liked the location very much. It is about 5 minutes walk away from Ghim Moh Market with many shops in that area and a community center. The train is also about 10 minutes away, with the Circle Line interchange opening just this weekend. The area is pretty and tranquil with a nice bridge and canal to run along. The only big minus is the proximity to train tracks with really loud noises which we could not accept. Many units left are facing the train tracks, especially blocks 26 and 27. We went up to the 5th floor and then to the 28th floor and the train noise was very audible. I can’t imagine living with it, especially on weekend mornings! I really wonder if those who have balloted for these projects actually visited these sites before choosing?
Since there were very little choice units left in Ghim Moh Valley and we did not like the quiet neighborhood in Strathmore, we gave Queenstown a miss.
Casa Clementi is not exactly near the train station, but the stadium and public swimming pool is just 3 minutes away. NTUC and Clementi central are 5 minutes away, with Clementi Mall about 10 minutes away. It’s still under construction though all buildings look ready. There were people milling around when we were there. They must be like us, checking the projects out before submitting the ballot.
We eventually chose Clementi, since I prefer to be near malls and amenities. I love it that banks, supermarkets, malls, restaurants, coffeeshops and markets are all within walking distance away. I don’t exactly like Queenstown since apart from the slight proximity to town, there is nothing much around and I would need to head into town for any errands and shopping. Moreover, Clementi has good primary schools and is so near to Jurong East with 2 upcoming HUGE shopping malls. Clementi is also nearer to my parents’ place and our weekly dinner at Jurong Point.
My chances are about 20%, and well, not very high. I'm hoping that many applicants are 2nd timers. But then again, I only need ONE flat while there are 287 for me to choose from. Many other SBF and earlier BTO had much lower chances. And yes, I’m trying very hard to be positive and attract all the good energy around me.
Wish me luck!
On a separate note, if I get it, I'll be married new year. =O
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