Debated in Parliament on 7 Nov 2022.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for National Development in each year since 2018 (a) how many first-timer Singaporean couples were unsuccessful in their BTO applications in non-mature estates (i) two times, (ii) three times, (iii) four times, (iv) five times and (v) six or more times; and (b) what can applicants do to increase their chances of securing a flat.
First-timer (FT) families who have been unsuccessful in two or more attempts for a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat in the non-mature estates (NMEs) receive an additional ballot chance for each subsequent NME BTO application. Virtually all FT families who apply for NME BTO flats are successful within their first three tries. However, the count of unsuccessful NME BTO applications will be reset to zero if an FT family chooses not to book a flat when offered a chance to do so in any BTO or SBF exercises. FT families who choose not to book a flat will also be issued a non-selection count. FT families who accumulate two non-selection counts will have their subsequent flat applications moved to the second-timer category for a year. Nevertheless, HDB may exercise flexibility on a case-by-case basis to waive the non-selection count if there were limited number of flats available for selection, although the count of previous unsuccessful NME BTO applications will still be reset to zero. Therefore, we strongly encourage applicants to select a flat when given the chance to do so.
The details of FT families who were unsuccessful in BTO exercises in NMEs each year since 2018 are tabulated below. As seen from the table, most FT families who applied for NME BTO flats in each year are successful and the vast majority of them are successful within two tries. For FT families who had three or more unsuccessful attempts, it is largely because they had rejected a chance to book a flat in an earlier sales exercise.
To increase their chances of securing a flat, applicants can apply for a flat in a town or flat type that has a relatively lower application rate. HDB regularly updates the application rates during the application period of a BTO exercise and this information is displayed on HDB InfoWEB for applicants’ reference. From past launches, about 40% of invited flat applicants do not proceed to book a flat. Thus, an application rate of not more than 1.7 times would give the flat applicants a good chance of securing a unit.
PAPERCUTS