Debated in Parliament on 4 Nov 2014.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development (a) how does HDB arrive at the revised number of 16,000 BTO flats to be built next year that will be sufficient to meet public demand; (b) whether these 16,000 new BTO flats include 2-room BTO flats to meet the demand by singles; (c) whether HDB has decided on whether it will carry extra stock of new BTO flats; and (d) what is the additional number of flats that it will carry at any point in time to meet pent-up demand.
Next year, HDB intends to launch four Build-To-Order (BTO) exercises, for a total of 16,900 new flats. That will include about 4,000 2-room flats to cater to demand from singles and low-income families. In addition, HDB will conduct Sale of Balance Flat (SBF) exercises to augment the BTO supply. Several thousand units of unsold balance flats should be available next year.
As the number of new Singaporean family formations is estimated at about 15,000 each year, we are confident that the proposed supply should be adequate. Moreover, as resale prices continue to moderate, we can expect more buyers to return to the resale market rather than await the building of BTO flats.
Buffer stock is not cost-free and we cannot be holding empty blocks of completed HDB flats to wait for a surge in demand. What we can do is to try to project and build ahead of demand as closely as it is possible. There are bound to be temporary shortfalls or surpluses, as our market is also subject to external events which are beyond our control.
At this point, our focus is on ensuring a smooth transition from the ramp-up to a more sustainable phase, as the supply and demand for BTO flats achieve a better balance.
PAPERCUTS