Take-up Rates in HDB's Open Booking Exercises for New Flats

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many applicants have been successful in getting their HDB flats under open booking since it was launched (b) how many have decided not to go for flat selection after they obtained their queue number; (c) whether there are flats that still remained unselected under open booking; and (d) whether HDB will be offering more of such open bookings to those who need to get the flat early.

HDB launched the open booking of flats in June 2019. This allows home seekers to apply for a flat online, and get their flat selection appointment on a first-come-first-served basis, which can be as early as the next working day.

HDB has received a total of about 10,500 flat applications through open booking since its launch. More than 1,000 applicants booked a flat, while the remaining 9,500 or so did not.

HDB suspends open booking twice a year to inject a fresh supply of flats. At the most recent suspension on 3 August 2020, 36 units remained unselected, which is less than 5% of the 806 flats made available following the previous injection in March 2020. These unselected flats, together with the fresh flat supply, were made available for online viewing from 2 September 2020. In total, 492 flats were made available for open booking, and home seekers have been able to resume online applications from 9 September onwards.

HDB has been exploring ways to offer more flats through open booking. For example, since February 2020, HDB has ceased the Re-Offer of Balance Flats exercises, so that more of the unselected flats from the Sale of Balance Flats exercises can be offered directly for open booking. HDB will continue to refine its sales processes to better meet the needs of home seekers.