About 18,300 singles had applied to buy two-room Build-to-Order (BTO) flats since July 2013, and about 9,000 of them were able to select a flat.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) said in Parliament today, “The remaining 9,300 did not have a chance to select a flat. Some may have gone on with other housing plans. Many will try again at upcoming BTO launches.”
As the scheme to allow singles to buy two-room BTO flats is relatively new, the government said some pent-up demand is expected.
“HDB has ramped up the supply from 2,600 units in 2013 to about 5,000 units in 2014. Singles application rates have accordingly fallen, from a high of 58 applicants to 1 flat in July 2013, to 13 to 1 flat in November 2014. We will continue to help applicants to secure their flat faster,” MND added.
Under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme and Joint Singles Scheme, applicants must be at least 35 years old to buy a two-room flat in non-mature estates under the BTO exercise.
Responding to another query, HDB revealed there are currently about 10,000 balance flats, and 3,000 of these units are in the mature estates.
Around 4,000 units are three-room and smaller flats.
“We plan to release them in two batches of about 5,000 units each. This will offer more choices of flat types in various locations and give applicants a better chance of success, for each exercise. Nonetheless, we will review and fine-tune the marketing plan to see how best to complement the BTO exercises and support a stable housing market,” MND said.
Image (by HDB): Eligible first-timer singles can apply for a two-room flat in West Edge @ Bukit Batok, Buangkok ParkVista and Buangkok Tropica (pictured) at under the February 2015 BTO exercise.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
