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Singapore's HDB will launch 19,600 BTO flats in 2024 and reduce number of sales exercises
Starting in 2024, HDB said that it will conduct three BTO exercises and one Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise per year.
SINGAPORE — The Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced that it will launch about 19,600 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in 2024 across three sales exercises in February, June and October.
In an announcement on Monday (8 January), HDB said that the launch is in line with its previously announced plan to offer 100,000 flats from 2021 to 2025. In the last three years, HDB has ramped up the supply of BTO flats to offer more than 63,000 flats. There were 17,100 flats offered in 2021, 23,200 flats in 2022, and 22,800 flats in 2023.
Changes to the number of BTO sales exercises
Starting in 2024, HDB said that it will conduct three BTO exercises and one Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise in a year – a marked shift from the practice of having four BTO launches per year previously. An SBF exercise will be held in February 2024, together with the BTO sales exercise.
HDB added that it will implement the new classification of flats and launch flats under the Standard, Plus and Prime categories in the October 2024 sales exercise.
The fewer number of BTO launches from 2024 onwards will result in a bigger flat supply at each launch. HDB is expecting this to enable applicants to select from a wider range of flats and locations, stand a higher chance of successfully finding a flat that meets their budget and needs and reduce overlaps between the selection and exercises.
The changes to the number of BTO sales exercises per year were also based on the stabilisation of BTO application rates in 2023, according to HDB. In 2023, BTO application rates of first-timer (FT) home buyers for all flat types had fallen to 1.9, which is much lower than the pre-pandemic rate of 3.7 in 2019.
The median application rate for FT applicants for 3-room and bigger flats during the December 2023 sales launch was 0.8 compared to the pandemic years, which ranged from 2.0 to 6.8. These flat types are the units that the vast majority of FT applicants apply for, according to HDB.
Also read: Securing a HDB BTO flat: Young couple finally successful after 11 attempts
Also read: Dec 2023 BTO sales exercise: 250 HDB Community Care Apartments to be offered in Bedok
Also read: Guide to using your CPF funds to pay for your HDB flat or private property in Singapore
Less waiting time
HDB also added that more than 2,800 out of the 19,600 new flats (14 per cent) will be Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats with a completion waiting time of less than three years. This will be nearly four times the amount compared to the 732 SWT flats offered in 2023, hitting HDB's target of launching around 2,000 to 3,000 SWT flats per year one year ahead of schedule.
Furthermore, HDB added that it will work towards having three out of four new flats (75 per cent) slated for launch in 2024 have waiting times of four years or less. Close to 70 per cent of the flats launched in 2023 had waiting times of four years or less, bringing flat waiting times back to pre-pandemic levels where a majority of BTO projects had waiting times of three to four years.
To shorten project waiting times, HDB said it has been working on various measures. These include prioritisation of sites where construction works can begin earlier, and breaking up larger BTO projects into smaller projects for more efficient resource management by contractors to shorten the project duration and expedite project completion.
First BTO launch of 2024
In February 2024, HDB announced it would offer about 4,100 BTO flats in Bedok, Queenstown, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Punggol and Woodlands, in addition to about 1,500 SBF flats across various towns and estates. However, HDB cautioned that the supply will be subject to review as details are firmed up closer to the launch date.
Home buyers who are keen to participate in the February 2024 BTO and SBF exercises are encouraged to apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter early and submit all required documents by 15 January 2024.
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