Expect shorter waiting times of below 3 years for some BTO flats up for sale this year: HDB

Those looking to buy flats this year can look forward to getting their keys quicker.

More than 2,800 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats launched this year will come with shorter waiting times of less than three years.

"This is back to pre-pandemic levels where the majority of BTO projects had waiting times of three to four years, and down from the pandemic peak of four to give years," said the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in a media release on Monday (Jan 8).

The 2,800 figure is about 14 per cent of the 19,600 new flats scheduled for launch in 2024, HDB said.

These flats can be made available more readily, because of measures such as prioritising sites where construction works can begin earlier, and more efficient resource management by contractors.

The housing board also said it will work towards having three out of four new flats (or 75 per cent) slated for launch in 2024 to have waiting times of four years or less.

In 2023, close to 70 per cent of the flats have waiting times of 4 years or less.

"HDB will also press on with efforts to recalibrate our building programme over time so that Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats form a larger proportion of our supply of new flats," they said.

3 BTO sales exercises this year: HDB

For the first time since 2015, HDB will hold three instead of the usual four BTO sales exercises in a year.

19,600 new public housing flats will be launched in three batches in February, June and October.

"With three BTO launches instead of four, home buyers can look forward to a bigger housing supply at each launch. This will enable them to select from a wider range of flats and locations," said HDB. 

"This means that BTO flat applicants will now be able to enjoy a higher chance of success in finding a flat that meets their budget and needs."

In 2023, HDB launched 22,800 BTO flats across four sales exercises, an average of 5,700 flats per exercise. This year's average - across three exercises - is set to be higher at 6,533. 

The move to reduce the number of sales exercises comes on the back of the stabilisation of BTO application rates, HDB said.

In 2023, the median number of applicants for each available unit was 1.9, which is much lower than the pre-pandemic rate of 3.7 in 2019.

"BTO application rates for 2023 was lower than recent years," HDB said.

From the Oct 2024 sales exercise, HDB will implement the new classification and launch flats under the Standard, Plus and Prime categories.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com