SINGAPORE - For four years now, studio coordinator Aisyah, 33, has failed to secure a Housing Board flat despite putting in applications for Build-To-Order (BTO) units in Tampines, Yishun and Ang Mo Kio, and a balance flat in Bishan.

The 33-year-old, who declined to give her full name, said she was disappointed when she heard the news that from 2024, there would be just one sale exercise for balance flats a year, down from two.

“It’s like telling those who need a unit in one to two years to just go for a resale flat,” she said.

“One Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) launch a year means there will be more competition from others, which could then lead to a lower success rate.”

Ms Aisyah said she would prefer to secure an SBF unit as she hopes to get married in 2025. “We’ll wait for the February launch, and if we’re still unsuccessful, we’ll go for a resale flat.”

SBF launches give applicants a chance to apply for balance flats from earlier BTO sale exercises.

These homes are usually already under construction, near completion or completed.

In contrast, the wait for a new BTO flat is typically several years.

On Jan 8, the authorities announced that from 2024, the SBF exercise will happen only once a year, with the next round in February.

Such launches previously took place twice yearly, in May and November.

BTO flats will be launched across three exercises in a year – in February, June and October – down from four launches before.

These changes come on the back of stabilising BTO application rates.

About 4,100 flats will go on sale in the February BTO exercise. Another 1,500 SBF flats will be released in various towns.

In all, 19,600 BTO flats will be rolled out in 2024.

Other prospective home buyers told The Straits Times that they were hopeful the changes would result in more flats being on offer at each launch.

Driver Hui Sing said he hopes the adjusted launch frequency would mean more two-room flats being sold each time.

The 39-year-old did not succeed in securing a home at six BTO exercises and three SBF launches since 2022 as a first-time applicant who is single.

“I’ll be 40 soon. I’ve considered the resale route too, but prices are now at a record high,” he said.

“So I hope to secure a flat soon.”

Communications specialist Melanie Ho felt that having three BTO exercises, instead of four, a year seemed reasonable to reduce overlaps in applications.

“I have hope that the number of flats launched will not be any less and that there will be more options at each launch,” she said.

Ms Ho was, however, also disappointed that the SBF exercise will happen just once a year, as this means she would have to wait a year for the next one if she is unsuccessful.

The 27-year-old had hoped to apply for an SBF unit in November 2023 as she had failed to secure a flat in her previous application in May 2023. But the November SBF launch was pushed to December, and then to 2024.

“My boyfriend and I are planning to have our wedding in 2025, and we hope to secure a home soon, so we’re more keen on getting an SBF unit,” she said.

She would consider a BTO flat only if the wait is less than three years.

“It’s all so uncertain, but we’re still intending to try all the options before turning to the resale market,” said Ms Ho.

Explaining the reasons behind having three launches instead of four, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said it was to give applicants a wider range of projects per launch. The larger number of units means applicants have a higher chance of balloting for a flat.

A wider gap between each launch will also reduce overlaps, where an applicant may have obtained a queue number in one launch but may not have been invited to book a unit when the next launch comes, he told The Straits Times and Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao.

Although some people may be of the view that there will be fewer opportunities to apply for a flat, Mr Lee stressed that there are more upsides than downsides.

He noted that overall BTO flat application rates have stabilised. In 2023, there were 1.9 first-time applicants for each flat, lower than the rate of 3.7 in 2019.

Law undergraduate Nathan Lu, 24, said he could understand why the bigger gap between BTO launches would reduce overlaps, but it still “takes a while” to get a queue number and book a flat.

He said he has yet to book his four-room flat in Kallang/Whampoa, after he lodged his BTO application in the May 2023 launch. His flat-booking appointment is later in January 2024.

Mr Lu subsequently applied for another BTO project in Sin Ming in the December 2023 launch.

“We were planning to decide which BTO project to go for, based on the queue number for (the Sin Ming project), but I don’t think I’ll receive it before my flat-booking appointment for (the Kallang/Whampoa flat),” he said.

Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property search portal Mogul.sg, said reducing the number of yearly BTO exercises may not be to applicants’ advantage.

“It will lead to more competition among applicants in each BTO exercise, especially for the more popular projects,” he said. Applicants with “not very favourable” chances, he added, could turn to the resale market.

Some buyers may also not be ready to apply for BTO flats at certain times of the year, Mr Mak said.

However, Mr Eugene Lim, key executive officer at property firm ERA Singapore, said having fewer launches could encourage applicants to be more decisive in choosing their preferred estate or flat category.