Review of Application Process under Sale of Balance Flat Scheme

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for National Development whether HDB can review its current process for application of flats under the Sale of Balance Flats scheme with the view to shorten the current total time taken for the sales process from the launch of sales exercise to the balloting and allocation of flats, given the relatively fewer numbers of such flats on sale each time.

During each Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, flats that remain unselected from earlier Build-To-Order (BTO) sales launches, surplus Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) replacement flats, and flats from other sources, such as those repurchased by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), are offered to Singaporeans.

Although SBF exercises may involve fewer flats than BTO launches, the former comprise a wider range of flat types, locations and prices. This means that the number of application categories, that is, towns and flat types, offered are higher under the SBF exercises, which also often see high flat application rates. These are factors which add to the balloting and selection time.

SBF applicants, typically, receive their ballot results about six weeks from the close of the application period and would be invited to book a flat within six months from the release of the ballot results.

HDB regularly reviews its sales processes and will continue to refine them where possible, to meet the needs of home seekers.