10 Things To Consider When Choosing A HDB Unit

The following considerations do not factor in future financial gain as part of the investment made, although it most likely do contribute to a rise in the value of the units chosen.

1. Choose the town and constituency

Base your choice on what it practical as you will have stay put for a minimum of 5 years, unless you plan to invest.

One practical choice is to stay near your parents. If you are in good terms with them, it will come in handy when you start your own family as you sure do need all the help you can get.

Towns will have different constituencies so choose one that you fancy. Some may choose to stay where there are wet markets while others prefer a shopping center etc.

2. Near a train station

The reason is obvious - convenience, because not only it will be easier to commute daily to work, most amenities like supermarkets and eateries will usually be built around a train station too. It will also make it easier for others to visit, especially if you have a close knit family or friends.

It does not have to exactly in front of the train station. Anything within 500 m radius is good enough. In fact being too near an above ground train station, especially near the tracks, just mean more noise. Train service end near midnight, so do take note. 

3. Near a bus top

If the unit is no where near a train station, then choose a unit that is maximum two blocks away from the nearest bus stop. After having to make transfers from trains, the last thing you want to do is to have to walk a distance especially after a long day. This is also important if you have old folks with walking difficulties and young kids heading home on their own.

Covered walkways from the block to the bus stop will be a plus. However, try finding a unit not facing the bus stop or the road to avoid noise.

4. Near a car park

For those who drive, this is a must. After being stuck in jams, the last thing you want to do is to walk a distance from the car park to the block. Imagine when it rains and there are no covered walkways and you realise you forgot your house key in the car!

Even if you do not drive, visitors will thank you and will not grumble behind your back. However, do not choose a unit where most bedrooms are facing the car park as the noise from the vehicles in the car park, especially MSCP, can be unbearable at night.

5. Near the expressways

For drivers, being near the expressway means shorter time needed to get home and avoid all those annoying traffic lights.

Even if you do not drive, you may take cab rides or a lift from a colleague. With your block far away from the expressways, especially with many traffic lights in between simply means longer cab ride and not to mention higher fares too!

Again, do not choose a unit where the bedrooms are facing the expressways for a good night sleep.

6. Not facing an empty plot of land with unknown plan

Getting a unit facing an empty plot of land may sound like a good idea with unblocks views as one of the advantages but it is also risky unless you are sure of what the future of the empty plot will be.

You can check what is in plan for that empty plot of land at URA website. Just zoom in to the block you fancy and see the plan for that empty plot of land. If it is coloured green, it means a future park so you are safe. If it shows a figure like '3.0' etc, it means there will be high rise residential so have to decide if that will be OK or not.

7. Not facing afternoon sun

The reason is simple. You are most probably home only at night. With the afternoon sun hitting your bedroom walls, it will take some time before the heat within the rooms dissipates. It may mean more use of the air conditioners that will end up with higher bills.

The morning sun however is not so bad. At least it has about 5-6 hours in the afternoon to cool down.

8. Near the lift

You may find this strange but being near the lift means convenience even though there may be more human traffic. With a unit far away from the lift, having to go through numerous neighbours' doors can end up with disagreement etc, especially if you have a neighbour from hell! Not to mention if you have kids with strollers being blocked by your neighbours who treat the common corridor as an extension of their storage space.

Being near the lift will not cause you to dread having to go in and out of the house in case you forgot something in the car or forgotten to buy something from the shop.

9. Some outdoor space

Having some outdoor space instead of none will mean a lot, especially if the entrance to the unit is along the common corridor. You will need some space to place your footwear etc especially when you have a gathering.

10. Internal Layout

Layout matters. It has to be functional for you. For example, some prefer a bomb shelter in the kitchen which they can transform into a pantry while others prefer it to be near the entrance to serve as a store room.

Analyse your daily movement in your current house and see if there are any part of it that requires change but unable to be done due to the layout. For example, you may have old folks who now have to travel far to reach the bathroom in the kitchen. Take this opportunity to correct them with the new unit by choosing a unit with bathrooms near the rooms to make it easier for them.

Water heaters - what are your choices?

Getting heated water to your bathrooms nowadays is easy and affordable, depending on your needs and which method you choose. Most common method is by simply installing a POU (point of use) instant heater and you'll be showering in heated water in no time. However, a POU instant heater can only supply heated water to a specific area (for example the shower area) and you'll need one for each bathroom. If you need heated water from your sink, you'll need a centralised heater as a POU heater cannot perform this function (which will be explained later). You will also need the appropriate piping which can be costly, depending on the type of house you have and of course mixer taps (with hot/cold water inlets) Newer HDB flats where the wiring and piping are concealed already has the necessary piping taken care of. Same goes with most condominiums and landed properties. For older HDB flats however, there are no other options but to lay additional piping for heated water coming from the heater. Unless you are a plumber or have the necessary tools, you'll almost certainly need to call one to do the job. Once the necessary piping is available, all you need to do is to install a centralised heater and you'll have heated water in shower area and from the sink. Contrary to popular belief, there is actually more than one type of central heaters you can opt for. Most commonly used are the storage heaters where it is basically a heater with a tank to hold the heated water. The other type is a tankless instant heater that heats the water up as you use it. If you are wondering if the tankless instant heater is similar to the POU instant heater, you are not far off. The working concept is similar - which is to heat the water as water flows through it. However, you cannot use a POU instant heater as a central one because the POU heater is activated when water flows into the heater while the centralised one is activated when water flows out. That means you will need an on/off tap to supply cold water to the heater while it gets heated up and out from a hose etc. You cannot re route the heated water to another tap as then you will have to turn on two taps which will make it ridiculous So which is a better solution? To tank or not to tank? A storage heater is normally bulky, therefore can be unsightly and is also inefficient as it 1. heats the water up even when not in used to maintain the water temperature. This means you have to turn it on all the time or have it turned on for some time beforehand to allow it to heat the water up. Obviously the latter is not convenient. 2. heats up the whole tank regardless of the amount you actually plan to use. 3. can run out of heated water if the supply in the tank runs low as you are using it. Think of the electric thermos and you’ll get the idea. A tankless heater on the other hand is way smaller, therefore not that unsightly, and more efficient as it is turned on only when being used. This means, you can turn the main switch off when you are not using it and back on when you need to. If you think that it is inconvenient, then you just leave it on and it will only consume energy for the LED indicators which is negligible. There are two types of tankless instant heaters - one is electric and the other is powered by gas. You can install the electric tankless heaters almost anywhere you want but for one powered by gas, it can only be installed in an open area like the service yard. This effectively makes the gas heater not an option if it needs to be installed in the bathroom. Even if it can, having to lay gas piping into the bathroom can be costly and unsightly and even be impossible, due to the location of the gas pipe and the bathroom.

If your service yard adjoins to your bathroom (where the central piping inlet is located), then you can install a gas central heater in the service yard and extend the hot water pipe to bathroom. You have to drill a hole though so be careful that you do not damage any concealed piping as the cost to repair it will be astronomical. You have to also lay gas piping to the service yard. Check out City Gas for their range of gas heaters.

If your service yard is not adjoined to your bathroom, then an electric tankless heaters is your best bet. One such example is the Bennington C600. It is small and considered affordable at approximately $280. 

Take note that a tankless central heater is not a perfect solution and here's why. For one, it is not absolutely instant. Depending on the location of the heater and the length of piping it has to go through before it reaches the outlet, there will be a delay. However, this applies to any centralised heaters as well. So if you have never used a centralised heater before, this is expected. You will also see a drop in the water pressure. For most cases, this should not be an issue as no one uses boiling water in huge flow unless they want to scald themselves. So most likely, after mixing with cold water, the pressure should be just right, at a temperature most people use to shower or wash up. However, if it is an issue for you, it can be easily remedied by changing the shower heads or installing water saving devices onto the tap which will increase the pressure accordingly. Though it may be an inconvenience and even additional investments, the savings (both electricity and water) later on should make up for it. Whichever type of heaters you decide on, you may want to have heated waters in the kitchen or even the service yard since you already have a centralised heater. However, as far as I know, HDB flats with concealed piping do not extend to the kitchen and service yard. In this case you have, again, three ways to go about it. 1. You can extend and lay additional piping from your central water heater to the kitchen. This option saves you the cost of another heater but make sure that
- the piping works does not cost more than the heater 
- piping works are not unsightly. 2. Another way is to install another heater near the outlet to minimise any exposed piping. If you only need heated water for the kitchen sink, you can actually install it under the sink as show below




A storage heater is too big in this case therefore only tankless heater is possible. Since gas tankless heater cannot be installed in confined spaces like the cabinet under the sink, an electric tankless heater is the only option. In this case, the Bennington C600 will again be suitable. Though it will cost you another initial investment, this can be justified if: 1. Additional piping will cost just as much 2. Additional piping cannot be concealed and will look unsightly. However, do take note that you may need to lay a new wiring to support a higher ampere rating depending on the heater you choose. The Bennington C600 on a 13A socket can only run at mid power (3kW). It runs at a max of 4.5kW and requires a 20A socket. All the above options depends on the cost and aesthetic results. So below is a summary of all the available type of heaters

Heater type	Heating	Comments
Point of use (normally called 'instant heater')	Electrical	Pros: Simple to fix without the need for expensive piping Cons: Needs one for every outlet
Centralised Storage (normally called 'storage heaters)	Electrical	Pros: No drop in water pressure Cons: Bulky, inefficient power usage and not on-demand.
Centralised Tankless (or called multipoint heaters')	Electrical	Pros: Small, efficient, available on-demand Cons: Drop in water pressure
Centralised Tankless (normally called 'gas heaters')	Gas	Pros: Similar to its electrical cousin. Cons: Similar to its electrical cousin. May need to connect to an electrical point for ignition. Can only be installed in a non confined space. Additional gas piping required.

HDB BTO May 2015 - Eastlink I & II @ Canberra

This development is expected to be hot as it is right smack in front of the future NS12 Canberra MRT station.

There are only 2,3 and 4 room units available so those planning for a 5 room will be disappointed.

Of the two, Eastlink I will be favorable as it is the nearest to the MRT station and there is a neighbourhood centre within it which faces the station acting as a buffer between the station and the units to lessen noise and dust from the main road. The carpark is also just just two storeys high with an underground car park which means you can simply park your car, walk to the lift and go straight to your unit floor.

Except for some units in block 118B in Eastlink Two that faces north-east or south-west, all other units are either south-east or north-west facing. I personally will choose any east facing units as the morning sun is always better than the afternoon sun.

All units are also either facing internal compound or facing the road. Most of those facing internal compound in Eastlink I are too close for comfort as the opposite units are about 20 m apart. Similar units in Eastlink II are better as is it twice as far - about 50 m which is pretty acceptable.

Even those units in Eastlink II facing the drainage reserve only has about 30 m to the opposite unit in another development which is under constructions.

Choice Units

Unit 51, 53, 67, 69, 71, 73, 87 and 89 in Eastlink I will have unblock view as it is facing Sungei Simpang Kiri and a park connector. Although it will face future high rise industrial development, it still will have at least 100 m of buffer. Another plus side is that it will be south-east facing. This is should be hot units for 4 room units.

Units 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 568, 570, 572 and 574 in Eastlink I will face the internal compound but will have a huge buffer and the roof garden between the opposite units. This should be choice units for 2 and 3 room units.

Unit 342 and 344 in Eastlink II may be facing the internal compound but the opposite unit is at least 100 m away. This should be choice units for Eastlink Two.

All other internal facing units except for 364 and 376 in Eastlink II should be pretty fine as there is enough buffer between the opposite units and a roof garden view to boot.

HDB reverts back to building bigger 5 room units

The latest BTO for Punggol Bayview was a surprise as some units on sale gave hints that maybe HDB is reverting back its policy and will build bigger 5 rooms unit.

Below are the two layouts that is bigger than the current standard 110 sqm we are used to.

http://esales.hdb.gov.sg/hdbvsf/eampu01p.nsf/0/14JANBTOPG_page_8826/$file/fur.htm

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LAYOUT IDEAS FOR 5-ROOM
APPROX. FLOOR AREA 121 sqm
(Inclusive of Internal Floor Area 118 sqm and Air-Con Ledge)

LAYOUT IDEAS FOR 5-ROOM
APPROX. FLOOR AREA 122 sqm
(Inclusive of Internal Floor Area 119 sqm and Air-Con Ledge)

HDB May 2013 BTO - Woodlands - Pasture I & II

The BTO sits on the 2nd last piece of empty plot of land along Gambas Ave, flanked by Northoaks to the south-east and Woodlands Meadow BTO to the north-west.

The nearest MRT, Admiralty, is about 650m away and that is if you cut through the existing public housing

If you noticed, both MSCP are where they are to act as a buffer between the blocks and the new north-south expressway viaduct which in my opinion is the best place for both the MSCP.

However, when the MSCP is tucked to one side, it just mean that there will be blocks that requires some pretty good walking between them, so drivers do take note.

This BTO also comes with a commercial block that houses a supermarket, shops, a child care centre and even a restaurant. Pretty convenient.

Among its midst are also a nursing home and rental blocks.

Also, the drainage reserve on Pasture I runs underground resulting in an open space above ground. It remains to be seen what can that area be use for.

Layout is very much sardined up. Many units face each other and they are very close.

Choosing the best units is tough because there is not many but they have got to be those facing school and/or park, namely - 19, 03, 01, 15, 13, 16, 14, 28, 26. Although most will get the afternoon sun, it is the price to pay for unblock view.

For those facing internally, only 23 can make it. The rest is just too damn close.

If you do not mind the road noise and dust, then those higher units ( 7 floor and above) facing the MSCP or the commercial block will be great as it is quite a distance between the units and the future viaduct.

Source - HDB

Property: HDB - Keat Hong Colours

This is the worst layout I have seen in terms of the location of the drop-off points. Some blocks are so far away so drivers do take note.

This is also the biggest BTO of all and with supermarkets and shops in the MSC, parking will always be an issue.

Internal layout is nothing to shout about and the 5 room units have small common bedrooms. The common toilet for the 5 room unit is also bigger than the one in the master bedroom. What's up with that?

The good thing about this BTO is that, it is possible that the authorities may build an MRT station (maybe Keat Hong or Bricklands) near the site area.

4/5 rooms

Units 501, 505, 507, 511, 677 and 679 faces the carpark, therefore the furthest away from the next block and with a view of the roof top park. But do get units at 8th floor and above to avoid facing the carpark itself with all the noise etc. Unit 677 and 679 will get the afternoon sun.

Unit 665 and 667 faces the main road and future school with pretty much unblock view while escaping both the afternoon sun, if you do not mind the noise from the roads

Unit 501 and 503 will face the future neighbourhood park with a little of the morning sun. This, in my opinion is the best unit to choose.

Unit 529 might be a good choice too with pretty much unblock view from the neighbouring developments.

Unit 609 is not so bad as the next block is quite a distance away as well. It will get the afternoon sun on the master bedroom walls though,

3 rooms

Not much of choice but I would choose unit 605 or 603 as these units have better views. Both units will get the afternoon sun on the master bedroom walls.

Property: HDB BTO - Oleander Breeze @ Yishun

Although there will be future developments opposite Yishun Ave 1 - the plot ratio is 1.4, which means that they will most likely be low rise developments - higher level units will have breathtaking view of the Seletair Reservoir, if we take a similar 1.4 plot ratio development nearby - the Shaunessy - which is 4 level high.

Although far from any MRT station, access to this site is pretty good with SLE just 3.6 km away. The new exit from Yishun Ave 1 to Seletar West Link is another alternative access to TPE (towards Changi at this moment). It will also be nearer to get to Punggol through Seletar North Link.

Future expressway interchange currently under construction at meet points of CTE/SLE/TPE means you can access Yishun Ave 1 through Seleter West Link from CTE and TPE as well, apart from the current access from SLE.

Of all the BTO, I would consider the internal layout to be the best of all. The bathrooms do not have weird layouts like the rest.

Basically the good units are

- those facing the future park to the north (439, 441, 443, 425)
- all high level units facing Yishun Ave 1
- high level units facing the car park (499, 517)
- high level units facing future school (427, 429)
- high level units facing Orchird Country Club Driving range (461, 463)
- units facing internal compound but far away from the next block (437, 435, 473, 475, 461, 463)

Proposal for HDB to revert back to queue system

This is a proposal to HDB to revert back to the queue system instead of the current balloting system for the sale of flats.

Current balloting system has been a source of consternation among buyers for the lack of transparency and unpredictability. There are many cases where applicants were not successful even after many attempts. Having more chances is negated as balloting is still dependent on the luck factor.

QUEUE NUMBER SYSTEM

1. To kick start the queue system again, interested parties will have to register with HDB within a stipulated period of time for the initial phase of queue number allocation.

2. After the cut off date of the initial phase, all registrants will be put to a ballot where a queue number will be permanently assigned to them.

3. Those who registered after the initial phase will be assigned a permanent queue number based on the first come first serve basis.

4. Registrants with a queue numbers can opt to participate in any future sales launch where priority is given based on the queue number.

5. Registrant who do not participate in a sales launch will automatically move up the priority list for the next launch, based on his queue number.

6. Queue number can be revoked if chances to book a unit are not accepted.

7. Those who had their queue number revoked will need to register for a new queue number and join at the back of the queue.


SALES LAUNCH

1. When there is a sales launch, all applicants with a queue number can register their interest within a stipulated period of time.

2. After the registration cut off date, HDB will publish the list of applicants who registered in order of their queue number and demarcate those who has 100% chances of getting a unit (based on number of available unit) and those who do not.

For eg,

Available number of unit - 10
Registered applicants (in order of queue number) - 1, 3,4,5,6,8,10,11,12,15,16,17,19
Group A (applicants with 100% chances) - 1,3,4,5,6,8,10,11,12,15
Group B (applicants on waiting list) - 16,17,19

3. Applicants in Group A can choose their unit and priority will be given based on their queue number.

4. Applicants in Group A who do not book a unit at the end of the exercise will have his queue number revoked.

5. Once the list has been published and registered applicants informed accordingly of their grouping, another stipulated period of time will be given to those in Group A to book a unit.

6. Number of applicants to be placed in Group B can be fined tuned based on statistics.

7. Applicants in Group B has to the choice to opt out of this exercise at this point of time and still retain their their queue number.


SELECTION PROCESS

1. Selection process will continue as it is now

2. Any applicant who choose not to select a unit after he have accepted the offer to select will have his queue number

3. Available flat can then be offered to those on the waiting list.

HDB: Jan 2013 BTO pre-launch analysis

HDB has released information on the upoming Jan 2013 BTO.

For Ang Mo Kio BTO, it is near the confirmed future Mayflower MRT station of the Thomson Line

For Choa Chua Kang BTO, it is near the possible future Brickland MRT station of the North South Line.

The rest of the BTOs are far from any MRT Stations although they have some other attributes that may be attractive to buyers

For example the Hougang BTO is near the riverside and facing the Punggol Park so some units will have good unblock views. It is actually on the fringes of Sengkang and very near the KPE.

Yishun BTO is also near Orchid Country Club therefore some units will have good unblocked views too.

Tampines BTO is far from most except for Tampines Ave 10 which makes getting to the PIE and TPE easier.

Kallang/Whampoa is not near any MRT stations as well. Both the NSL and NEL are just as far. However it may be attractive to those who prefer staying near town.

Renovation: HDB Household Shelters

Nobody wants it and everybody hates it but like it or not, all HDB BTO flats will come with a household shelter. Only question is what can you do with it now that you are stuck with this so called wasted space as it cannot be hacked away?

Depending on where the location of the shelter is, it can actually serve some useful purpose. Below list out all the possible use of the space.

Location - near main door entrance.

You can turn the household shelter into a closet where you store all the footwear,  jackets, bags, umbrellas and all the things you often use when you step out of the house.

If you have kids, this can also be a good place to store the stroller(s) as well.

If your unit is small, then having a few spare fordable chairs will come in handy when you have a gathering. The chairs can be hung up nicely in the closet until there is a need for them.

Location - along the walkway to the rooms

Even though there is already a service yard, that area will most probably be wet making it not suitable to iron your clothes. So turning the household shelter into a central dry utility room would be practical especially if you have grown up kids who do their own ironing. With a central dry utility room, you do not have to bring the iron and ironing board in and out from room to room each time someone needs to use them or each room having their own iron and ironing board.

You can also store items like bedding, sheets, towels, pillow cases or even winter wears. Practically anything related to fabric. This saves you the precious space you have in your closet with the ever decreasing size of the rooms.

If you have babies, this will be a good place too to store stock of diapers and what not for those who like to buy in bulk.

Ikea's Gorm storage solution are cost effective for this purpose, as shown below.

Picture courtesy of loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.sg

Location - kitchen

Obviously, the best use of this space is to turn it into a pantry for all those things that you do not actually need to store in the kitchen cabinet itself. This includes stocks of canned/boxed/bottled food, packs of rice, garlic, onions etc. It is a life saver especially if your kitchen is small where it is not possible to have a big kitchen cabinet. It also helps to keep those things away and not spoil the look of your nifty kitchen.

Again, Ikea Gorm is suitable for you to create yourself a pantry

To store or not to store?

At the end of it all, what matters is how you use the space. Keeping it clean, tidy and organised is what actually counts. Don't treat the space as a dumping ground to store stuff for dust to settle.

On a side note, how do you know if the things you keep are a necessity? When it has never been used for more than a year, it most likely never will. Having an annual spring cleaning, normally before a festive season is a good way to throw unused junk out of your storage space.

HDB Loan Calculator

This file does a pretty accurate calculation of your HDB Loan, provided you key in the correct information in the blue cells. If you have not obtained your HLE, assume the full amount for the moment.

HDB LOAN CALCULATOR - DOWNLOAD

Take note that the maximum loan period is 25 years or until you are reach 65 of age, whichever is lesser.

The interest rate is based on the current concessionary rate of 2.6%. This rate is adjusted every quarterly, in January, April, July and October each year. Current HDB market interest rate is actually 3.38%

The file gives you 4 options

1. Calculate by loan period with a maximum of $40,000 (combined) parked in CPF-OA
2. Calculate by loan period without any amount parked in CPF-OA
3. Calculate by desired monthly payments with a maximum of $40,000 (combined) parked in CPF-OA
4. Calculate by desired monthly payments without any amount parked in CPF-OA.

You can choose to see either with maximum $40,000 (combined) parked in CPF-OA or without for the loan breakdown.


MAXIMUM OF $40,000 (COMBINED) IN CPF-OA

The option of having a maximum of $40,000 (combined) parked in CPF-OA is included because the first $20,000 in each individual CPF-OA earns extra interest of 1% making it a total of 3.5%, which is higher than HDB 2.6% interest rate. It means you are better off keeping that amount to earn that extra interest, if you can afford to*. Look at the calculated actual interest paid to make the comparison of having any amount parked or not.

Although the extra 1% interest goes into your Special Account and you will not be able to use it for other purpose except for retirement, it goes into meeting your Minimum Sum later on when you retire. That means, there is more of your Ordinary Account to draw out from when you reach the age of 55.

Having a maximum of $20,000 in your own CPF-OA on standby will also come in handy if you are unable to service your mortgage when there are no contributions to your CPF-OA for a period of time due to lost of income etc. The number of months that amount can help you out will be

Amount parked / monthly installment = number of months you are covered


MAXING OUT MONTHLY INSTALLMENT USING CPF-OA CONTRIBUTION

To know if you need to top up in cash on top of your monthly CPF-OA contribution to pay for your monthly installment, take note of the table below. All you need to concentrate on is the amount credited into your Ordinary Account (as highlighted in blue). If the amount is lesser than your calculated monthly installment, it means you have to top up the difference in cash.

Take note the percentage decreases as you grow older so if your income do not increase as you age, it means you have to top up more after every stage in the table. So take note if you plan to max out your monthly installment using your monthly CPF-OA contribution.

The file provides an estimate of the monthly cash top up that you may need to make.

Employee Age (Years)	Contribution Rate (for monthly wages ≥ $1,500)			Credited into
	Contribution by Employer (% of wage)	Contribution by Employee (% of wage)	Total Contribution (% of wage)	Ordinary Account (% of wage)	Special Account (% of wage)	Medisave Account (% of wage)
35 & below	16	20	36	23	6	7
Above 35-45	16	20	36	21	7	8
Above 45-50	16	20	36	19	8	9
Above 50-55	14	18.5	32.5	13.5	9.5	9.5
Above 55-60	10.5	13	23.5	12	2	9.5
Above 60-65	7	7.5	14.5	3.5	1.5	9.5
Above 65	6.5	5	11.5	1	1	9.5

*  If you are a first timer, you may not have the luxury of  maintaining any amount in your CPF-OA as it will be emptied when you apply for HDB loan.

Simpang New Town

Looks like URA is finally going forward with the plans for Simpang New Town which was put on hold till Punggol New Town is fully developed. Since plans for Punggol have already been announced, Simpang development can finally start.

The area between Sembawang Road and Yishun Industrial Park A is already cordoned off to make way for upcoming HDB BTO projects. It remains to be seen whether HDB will group this BTO as part of Simpang or Sembawang.

Those who are planning to apply for new BTO in either Sembawang and Yishun can consider waiting till the next HDB sales launch as the November 2012 sales launch do not include this Simpang BTO in the list. One good reason is because a new MRT station between the current Yishun and Sembawang stations will be built. This will be the missing N12 in the current MRT stations map.

The location of the station will most likely be where Canberra Link, Yishun Ave 2 and Sungai Simpang Kiri intersect, right in front of the upcoming BTO, as that is the equal distance between NS11 and NS13 stations. 

Those staying along Yishun Ave 7 in condominiums like Yishun Sapphire, Yishun Emerald, Eight Couryards and One Canberra and HDB housing block 165 to 175 will also benefit.