HDB likely to exceed initial 55,000-flat target from 2025 to 2027: Chee Hong Tat

SINGAPORE – The Housing Board is likely to launch more homes than its initial commitment of 55,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats from 2025 to 2027 as current trends show a strong demand for housing, said National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat.

Speaking at a symposium on urban housing organised by the National University of Singapore on May 8, Mr Chee said housing challenges have “grown far more complex beyond building enough flats”.

He pointed out that some challenges include ensuring flats remain affordable and accessible amid changing economic conditions, and making better use of limited space because of land scarcity.

To address these challenges, the authorities will build more homes and build them faster, he said.

Efforts to ramp up housing supply include launching around 19,600 BTO flats in 2026, of which 4,000 are flats with shorter waiting times of less than three years.

In addition, to meet growing demand from singles and seniors, the authorities will increase the supply of two-room flexi flats by nearly 50 per cent from 2026 to 2028, Mr Chee said.

A “robust supply” of private housing is also in the pipeline, with about 12,000 such units, including executive condominiums, set to be launched by developers.

This is more than 50 per cent higher than the number of units launched in 2024, and similar to the supply in 2025, Mr Chee noted.

“We are prepared to release more land for private housing, if demand remains strong,” he added.

Mr Chee said the authorities have implemented various policies over the years to ensure public housing remains affordable and accessible for Singaporeans, such as the Standard, Plus and Prime classification framework.

Plus and Prime flats, which are in more attractive locations, come with extra subsidies to keep them affordable. They also have stricter resale conditions such as a 10-year minimum occupation period and a subsidy clawback upon resale to curb speculative behaviour.

The current income ceiling for BTO flats – $14,000 for families and $7,000 for singles – is being reviewed, he added.

In his speech, Mr Chee also touched on rejuvenating older estates.

Noting that the first HDB flats were built in the 1960s, which means many flats in Singapore are approaching or have reached 60 years old, he said a second round of home upgrades under the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) will be introduced when flats reach their 60- to 70-year mark.

The first round of HIP spruces up older housing estates around their 30-year mark and resolves common maintenance problems, such as spalling concrete.

The second round of HIP upgrades that HDB flats will undergo – known as HIP II – will be more extensive and make use of new technologies like microwave scanning to detect issues such as water seepage, Mr Chee said.

Residents in HDB estates will also benefit from other upgrading programmes such as the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme and the Silver Upgrading Programme, which enhance facilities in estates.

The authorities will inject housing into older towns as well, to bring new amenities to these areas for current and new residents.

For example, to rejuvenate Toa Payoh, a 1,600-unit BTO project next to Caldecott MRT station in Toa Payoh West will be launched in October.

A 60-storey BTO project in Pearl’s Hill in Outram Park, which will be launched in the next few years, will bring public homes back to the city centre, Mr Chee said.

Turning to the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS), which is still in the works, Mr Chee said it will allow the Government to progressively redevelop older towns.

The scheme will allow owners of flats that are 70 years old and above to vote on whether the Government should buy back their homes before their 99-year leases run out.

VERS would prevent a situation where a large number of residents need to be relocated at the same time, given that several older estates were rapidly built up in the 1970s and 1980s to meet urgent housing demand then, Mr Chee added.

He had said in August 2025 that the programme will begin with a few sites in the first half of the 2030s and will be scaled up from the late 2030s. He had said he aims to flesh out as much of the VERS policy framework as possible within this term of government.