ALMOST 10,000 people have applied for 278 surplus flats offered by the Housing Board in mature estates like Toa Payoh, Tampines and Bedok.

By 5pm on Monday - hours before the midnight deadline for applications - there were about 36 applicants for every flat available. This is the highest subscription rate recorded so far for such exercises.

Most of the surplus flats offered in this batch are already completed, with the rest expected to be ready by 2011.

Property consultants had expected a flood of applicants as buyers are increasingly being turned off by high asking prices in the HDB resale market.

The surplus flats also appeal to buyers not wanting to wait three to four years for the HDB's build-to-order flats, which the Board is putting out in greater numbers this year.

About 4,500 of them will be offered from January to June alone.

Resale prices of HDB flats rose 17.5 per cent last year, while the median cash-over-valuation amount paid in transactions rose to $22,000 in the October to December period (2007), compared to just $17,000 in the previous quarter.

The 278 flats offered in this launch are located in highly coveted mature towns and surrounded by amenities. Most of them are four-room flats, with 84 five-room and executive units.

Four-room flats are going for $141,000 to $398,000, while five-roomers cost $218,000 to $532,000.

The few executive units available will cost $333,000 to $470,000.

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