Forum: Flat selection option ensures fair approach for all new flat applicants
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We thank Mr Chan Yaohua for his feedback ( Let applicants make more selections in Sale of Balance Flats exercises
All flats offered in HDB’s sales exercises are grouped by towns to provide applicants with more choices, especially where there is more than one project within the same town.
Interested applicants in our Build-To-Order (BTO) or Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises may apply for one flat type in one town during the application period. From our experience, most buyers would have their preferences on the flat type and town that they would like to live in.
Flats offered under the SBF exercise tend to have shorter waiting times, being mostly unselected flats from earlier BTO exercises that are already under construction or near completion. This makes them more popular among flat applicants.
However, the supply of SBF flats is usually smaller compared with that of BTO flats. Allowing SBF flat applicants to apply for multiple estates and flat types will increase application rates further, and result in greater competition for the limited number of available flats, without necessarily increasing the chances for applicants to secure their flats.
Having the same “one flat type in one town” option for both BTO and SBF flat applicants will also ensure a fair and consistent approach for both groups of new flat applicants.
To improve their chances of securing a flat, we encourage applicants to look out for projects with lower application rates, which are updated three times a day on the HDB Flat Portal during the application period.
HDB will launch about 3,800 units of Shorter Waiting Time flats with waiting time of less than three years, and will hold another SBF exercise later this year, to cater for home buyers with more pressing housing needs. We will continue to refine our sales modes where necessary, to better meet the diverse needs of home buyers.
Emily Ang
Director (Marketing and Development)
Housing & Development Board
