Yahoo Finance 
May 2023 BTO launch: 5,495 HDB flats for sale with median waiting time of 3.4 years
Nearly 90 per cent of the flats will have a waiting time of less than 4 years.
SINGAPORE — The Housing Development Board (HDB) has launched 5,495 flats for sale under the May 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) on Tuesday (30 May).
The median waiting time for this batch of BTO projects is about three years and five months. Nearly 90 per cent of the BTO flats in four of five projects on offer are expected to be completed in under four years, with waiting time ranging from three years and one month to three years and eight months.
Among the BTO projects with the shortest waiting time is the Parc Meadow@Tengah (from three years and one month to three years and four months), while the other four projects – Plantation Verge, Bedok South Blossoms, Serangoon North Vista and Farrer Park Arena — have waiting times that range from three years and five months to four years.
The BTO flats on offer are spread across mature and non-mature estates in Bedok, Kallang Whampoa, Serangoon and Tengah. Flat types range from two-room Flexi to 3Gen flats.
More than 40 per cent of the total five-room flat supply in the May BTO sales exercise is situated in the mature towns of Bedok and Serangoon.
HDB highlighted that strong demand for the BTO flats at Bedok South Blossoms and Serangoon North Vista is to be expected, as it has been several years since the last BTO launch in the towns of Bedok and Serangoon.
May 2023 BTO flat pricing
With the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) of up to S$80,000 for eligible first-timer families, HDB said that flat buyers could pay as little as S$163,000 for a three-room flat and S$290,000 for a four-room flat in the non-mature estate of Tengah, and may service their mortgage through their CPF, with little to no cash outlay.
Also read: May 2023 BTO launch: Nearly 3,000 HDB flats for sale in Tengah
Also read: HDB disbursed S$1.56 billion in EHG to 49,500 households from 2019 to 2022
Also read: Singapore HDB to streamline income and subsidy eligibility assessment for flat buyers
In Bedok – a mature estate where prices are higher – the prices after grants start from S$260,000 and S$403,000 for a three-room and four-room flat respectively.
"With significant market discounts, the new flats will be priced considerably lower than the transacted prices of comparable resale flats," said HDB.
Prime Location Public Housing (PLH)
HDB also announced that the Farrer Park Arena BTO project will be offered under the PLH model, with a total of 569 units of three-room and four-room flats.
Out of this amount, 20 per cent of the flats will be set aside for first-timer families while two per cent will be set aside for second-timer families under the Married Child Priority Scheme.
The priority quota for other BTO flats in mature estates is typically set at 30 per cent for first-timer families and 3 per cent for second-timer families.
May 2023 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise
In addition to new BTO flats for sale, there are 1,500 SBF units on offer at various locations for the May 2023 SBF sales exercise.
HDB noted that about 61 per cent of the flats for sale have been completed while the rest are in "various stages of construction".
HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) Letter
The May 2023 BTO and SBF exercises will be the first to see flat buyers applying for the new HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter, having been implemented on 9 May as part of the application process for those who wish to participate in the sales exercises.
Keen applicants will first need to complete the Preliminary HFE check of the HFE letter application in the HDB Flat Portal before submitting a flat application. The Preliminary HFE assessment will then inform applicants of their eligibility for a new or resale flat purchase as well as the amount and type of grants they may receive.
Flat applications can be made online via HDB Flat Portal from Tuesday to Monday (5 Jun). Applicants can apply for only one flat type in one town under either the BTO or SBF exercise.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
