Forum: Building HDB flats before sales launch a game changer
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About 8,500 flats are available in the recent October 2024 Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise. Of these, more than 2,000 flats have a wait time of under three years (Over 2,000 BTO flats with waiting time of under 3 years to be launched in October, Oct 6).
These include Fernvale Sails in Sengkang with a wait time of two years and three months, and West BrickVille @ Bukit Batok with an impressive two-year wait time.
Housing Board chief executive Tan Meng Dui was reported to have said the board worked closely with various government agencies to make project sites available earlier. As a result, the construction works start many months – or even more than a year – ahead of a project launch.
Mr Tan added that tenders were awarded and construction was started as soon as the sites became available, instead of waiting till the sales launch for flat applications to come in.
I find this commendable strategy a game changer in reducing applicants’ wait time for their homes.
I urge HDB to adopt this approach for more BTO developments in future.
Besides the October 2024 BTO exercise, there was an earlier example in recent years where a BTO development was built before it was open to buyers.
In May 2023, an ST article reported that construction work was under way for an unlaunched BTO development in Sin Ming Road off Upper Thomson (Over 900 flats to be built in Sin Ming; first new HDB project in the area in over 30 years, May 5, 2023).
Months later, that project was eventually launched as Sin Ming Residences in December 2023’s BTO sales exercise. When it was open for buyers’ applications, Sin Ming Residences’ wait time was reported as about two years and eight months, the shortest wait in that launch.
Michelle Chin
