February 2026 BTO Launch Preview: 4,600 Flats Launch in First BTO Exercise of the Year

The first BTO launch of the year packs 4,600 flats, including BTO flats in popular towns like Bukit Merah, Tampines, and Toa Payoh. The exercise will be held concurrently with an SBF exercise of around 3,000 flats.

A Recap of 2025’s BTO Market

2025 has been a fruitful year for the HDB Build-To-Order (BTO) market, which saw over 19,600 new homes made available for sale.

This included highlights such as the debut of flats in new precincts such as Mount Pleasant and Berlayar, as well as the introduction of Prime flats into new towns such as Clementi.

We also saw adjustments to subsidy clawback rates, which peaked at 14% for homes in Bukit Merah (Berlayar) in October 2025, a substantial increase from the 9% high for the Queenstown (Holland Village) prime flat launched in October 2024. The increase in subsidies provided, and hence the uptick in clawback rates is essential in ensuring that BTO prices remain sustainable, especially as HDB resale prices continued to grow throughout the entirety of 2025.

A New Year of BTO Exercises Kicks Off in February

So what lies in store for 2026? To kick off the year in February, we will see a total of six projects launched across four residential towns (Bukit Merah, Sembawang, Tampines, and Toa Payoh).

Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh and Tampines are among the most popular towns among BTO applicants, drawing in previous first-timer 4-room application rates of 2.2 (Prime), 6.4 (Prime),and 6.7 (Standard) respectively. Meanwhile, Sembawang is a town that is set to see urban transformation, under URA’s Master Plan and the new Sembawang North HDB estate.

This represents the smallest variety of towns and number of projects compared to the three launches that took place in 2025. However, with a healthy projected stock of around 4,600 flats, this means a larger allocation on average for the projects, equating to a better chance at securing a home – subject to your own luck, of course.

Bukit Merah

1,040 units – 2-room flexi, 3-room, and 4-room layouts available

Source: HDB, ERA Research and Market Intelligence

Within the immediate vicinity are a wide range of amenities that you would associate

With the high average prices of nearby resale HDB transactions, it is likely that this will be a Prime project, with significant subsidies provided. Expect around 12-14% subsidy clawback upon resale, based on previous Bukit Merah BTO launches in October 2025 (Berlayar Residences -14% subsidy clawback) and July 2025 (Alexandra Vista, Alexandra Peaks – 11%).

Sembawang

1,160 units – 2-room flexi, 4-room, and 5-room layouts available
760 units – 2-room flexi, 3-room, 4-room, and 5-room layouts available

Source: HDB, ERA Research and Market Intelligence

This pair of Sembawang BTO projects are situated near Singapore’s North coast, and will be part of the up and coming Sembawang North residential neighbourhood.

North Oaks Primary School, Canberra Primary School, and Wellington Primary School (certain blocks) fall within 1km radius, which would be a plus point for families. Parks, healthcare centres, places of worship, and other amenities are proposed to be constructed in the near future as well.

While the new Sembawang North neighbourhood is being built up with amenities and conveniences, residents can also visit Sun Plaza shopping mall at Sembawang MRT, as well as sports facilities and a hawker centre at Bukit Canberra one stop away.

Given its location being a 12-minute bus commute from the nearest Sembawang MRT, this project should be classified as Standard, and its affordable price point coupled with the offering of 5-room flats could interest those looking for larger, value per square-foot homes in the North region.

Tampines (Tampines Central)

250 units – 2-room flexi and 4-room layouts available

Source: HDB, ERA Research and Market Intelligence

The first of two BTO projects located in Tampines in this launch exercise, this site boasts an extremely convenient location in Tampines Central, just 8-minutes’ walk from the MRT station and adjacent to Tampines Concourse Bus Interchange.

Residents who manage to secure a unit at this project will get to enjoy the convenience of living in the mature estate’s town centre. This includes the trio of nearby shopping malls Tampines Hub, Tampines 1 and Century Square, various neighbourhood shops and services, as well as 5-minutes walking distance to Tampines MRT, which serves two lines and provides a straight commute into the city within 30-minutes.

Given its choice location near the town centre and abundant access to amenities like shopping malls and an MRT and bus interchange, this project could be classified as a Plus, with around an 8% subsidy clawback rate (based on last Plus launch, Stirling Horizon in Feb 2025). We should expect strong competition for the 250 available units.

Tampines (Tampines Drive 22)

280 units – 3-room and 4-room layouts available

Source: HDB, ERA Research and Market Intelligence

The second BTO project in Tampines is also small-sized, offering only 280 units. It has a more modest location along Tampines Street 22, which is around a 15-minute commute by bus from either Tampines MRT station and town centre, or Simei MRT station.

Primary Schools within 1km include Yumin Primary School, Chongzheng Primary School, and Tampines Primary School, which will provide multiple options for families with young children.

While nearby amenities are mainly limited to a few coffee shops and neighbourhood shops, residents can take the journey to Tampines or Simei MRT, to dine or shop at its respective shopping malls. Tampines Round Market is also located around 10-minutes away.

With its location away from the MRT, this is likely to contrast the previous site and be classified as a Standard project, offering a more affordable alternative for East-side homebuyers.

Toa Payoh

1,130 units – 2-room flexi, 3-room, and 4-room layouts available

Source: HDB, ERA Research and Market Intelligence

Located in the Kim Keat neighbourhood within Toa Payoh town, one of Singapore’s earliest and most sought-after mature estates to live in, due to its city fringe location and abundance of amenities.

Higher floor units in this project should enjoy an unblocked view over the expressway and the Kallang River.

While it is classified as part of Toa Payoh town, this BTO site is situated around a 15-minutes bus ride from the town centre and MRT via Toa Payoh’s extensive feeder bus network. Potong Pasir MRT is also reachable within 10-minutes, providing an alternative train line for commuting.

Nearby schools within 1km include First Toa Payoh Primary School, St. Andrew’s Junior School, and Pei Chun Public School – the latter which is known for its competitive Primary 1 enrolment exercise. Priority enrolment across a variety of schools should be a plus point for many young families considering this project.

Despite its distance from the MRT, resale flats in Toa Payoh have been enjoying high resale transaction prices. Therefore, we expect substantial subsidies to be provided and a likely Plus classification based on resale flat prices in Kim Keat and Toa Payoh East. Expect a clawback rate of around 8% (based on last Plus launch, Stirling Horizon in Feb 2025).

Conclusion

With only a few projects on offer, this BTO launch has admittedly less options than what was offered in the previous few exercises. However, this launch provides essential variety by providing more accessible flats in Toa Payoh, and multiple options in Tampines for example, which should help quell some of the demand faced by popular residential towns.

Additionally, the concurrent Sale of Balance Flat (SBF) exercise should supplement the options available by introducing a stock of around 3,000 additional SBF flats for sale.

The BTO market has seen many exciting changes over the last two years, with the new classification of flats and new precincts such as Bayshore, Berlayar, Mount Pleasant, and Chencharu being built. While there are no firm details available, we could expect to see more new homes in these precincts be launched over the subsequent exercises in 2026.

Whether you choose to wait out for those projects, participate in the February BTO exercise, or even try your luck in the SBF exercise, feel free to reach out to an ERA Trusted Adviser today if you have any questions – and may the odds be ever in your favour!