With not too long left till the first BTO sales exercise of 2026, HDB has just dropped some details about the projects on offer, as well as a preview of what to expect.
In case you missed it, the upcoming February 2026 BTO sales exercise will see about 4,600 BTO flats in Bukit Merah, Sembawang, Tampines, and Toa Payoh, which is part of the over 9,600 BTO flats the HDB hopes to launch across three sales exercises this year. The February 2026 launch will also see a concurrent Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, with about 3,000 flats available for sale.
Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming launch.
>1,300 Shorter Waiting Times (SWT) Flats
At the upcoming BTO launch, there will be a total of six projects across four estates for sale. Amongst these projects, three of them will have Shorter Waiting Time flats of less than three years: Tampines Bliss, Tampines Nova, and Sembawang Deck.
Tampines Bliss (1 year 11 months)
Image credit: HDB
Tampines will see two projects featuring in this February 2026 sales exercise. The first is Tampines Bliss, a relatively small development with just 284 units of 3-room and 4-room flats. Bordered by Tampines Avenue 2 and Tampines Street 22, it is a relatively short distance from Tampines MRT Station at Tampines Central. From there, you can either walk 15 minutes or take the feeder service 292 to Tampines Bus Interchange.
What makes this project particularly appealing is that HDB has indicated it as a Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) project, with a wait time of just 1 year and 11 months. This makes it one of, if not the, fastest projects to be completed since SWT flats were introduced in 2018. In recent times, the project with the shortest waiting time belonged to West BrickVille @ Bukit Batok, which was launched in the October 2024 BTO exercise with a waiting time of two years.
Image credit: HDB
Designed with children’s playgrounds, fitness areas and a therapeutic garden, the project will also come with an eating house and a preschool. Tampines is also a well-developed housing estate, and so there are plenty of amenities to cater to residents’ needs.
Tampines Bliss will definitely attract a fair bit of applicants. For starters, the project has 3-room and 4-room flats, which will attract young couples and larger family units. Unlike the other Tampines project, it’s located a bit further away from the main Tampines Central, and so it is likely to be launched at a lower price. Plus, its considerably short waiting time makes it a great choice for those who can’t afford, or don’t want, to wait so long for a new home.
Tampines Nova (2 years 8 months)
Image credit: HDB
The second Tampines project, Tampines Nova, has also been designated as a SWT project with a wait time of 2 years 8 months. Compared to Tampines Bliss, this is arguably one of the more exciting projects in this February 2026 BTO launch.
Let’s start with what is undeniably a key highlight: its location, and more specifically, its proximity to Tampines Central. In fact, it is practically part of Tampines Central, which is a very favourable location because of its access to three shopping malls, the bus interchange, MRT station, and an assortment of small shops and other amenities right next to the upcoming Tampines Nova.
Within the project’s precinct, there will be a central courtyard with children’s playgrounds and fitness corners for residents to stay active, as well as a rooftop garden for residents to engage in community gardening.
Image credit: HDB
One of its downsides, if any, is its unit composition. It will offer 255 units of 2-room Flexi and 4-room flats, which means potential applicants will largely fall into two distinct groups: Single applicants will compete fiercely for the 120 2-room Flexi units, while larger family applicants will go for the 130 4-room units. You will have to expect very stiff competition given its extremely favourable locational attributes.
As we wrote in our earlier analysis of the February 2026 BTO exercise, there is a possibility that this project will be classified as a Plus project. It does not have any 5-room flats, as we have seen so far in Prime and Plus projects, and it sits in an extremely desirable location.
Sembawang Deck (2 years 9 months)
Image credit: HDB
The third Shorter Waiting Time project in this upcoming exercise is Sembawang Deck, which is one of two Sembawang BTO projects in this exercise, and has an estimated waiting time of 2 years 9 months, unlike the other Semabwang project. Located in the new Sembawang North housing area, the project will offer 777 units of 2-room Flexi, 3-room, 4-room and 5-room flats, alongside a preschool, eating house, minimart and shops.
If you travel to the project site now, there aren’t many amenities in the area. In fact, it’s quite sparsely populated. But fret not: more amenities will be introduced, such as a new neighbourhood centre, shops, and dining options.
If you recall, Sembawang North is also slated for greater redevelopment plans. Studies are underway to see how the entire northern coast can be redeveloped into a waterfront lifestyle destination, perhaps similar to the Greater Southern Waterfront and Tanjong Rhu. This might include the likes of community spaces for concerts, sports, performances, and of course, dining, shopping, and recreation.
Image credit: HDB
It’s probably also worth highlighting that the two Sembawang projects are the only projects this time around to offer 5-room flats. If you’re willing to look beyond its location, it’s actually quite a viable pick for families with larger households. Plus, those who managed to secure a unit at Sembawang Beacon, which was launched previously, or at either of these two new Sembawang projects will get to enjoy first-mover advantages of the new northern coast district.
That said, we expect the distance from Sembawang Deck to the nearest MRT station, as well as distance from the nearest highway or other parts of Singapore to be a considerable factor in interest for this project, and so we don’t think it will be heavily oversubscribed.
>4,200 new BTO flats & 4,300 SBF flats to be launched this February 2026 launch
Now that we are into February, it’s only a matter of days before the first BTO sales exercise of 2026 will be officially underway. With over 8,500 flats for sale across various locations and estates in Singapore, this is a good opportunity for those looking for a new home to take advantage of a smaller-sized BTO launch.
As always, remember to prepare all your necessary documents in the leadup to the launch. We’ll be doing a deep-dive into each of the BTO projects when the exercise is officially launched and more details are released, so stay tuned.
Read more about buying a BTO flat and what you need to know:
- What you need to know before using CPF OA to repay HDB loans
- How to choose your BTO unit
- Unofficial BTO hacks & tips by Singaporean homeowners
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