Early signs that BTO application rates have reduced and are stabilising: HDB

The Housing Board also continued to encourage home buyers to consider non-mature estates to increase their chances of booking a flat, pointing out that first-timer applicants who applied for Jurong West Crystal and Brickland Weave in Tengah stand a good chance of securing a flat.

Those who applied for flats at Ulu Pandan Glades, a Prime Location Housing project in the mature estate of Queenstown, will also have a good chance of booking a flat.

The low first-timer application rates for these projects are between 0.2 and 1.8 across the various flat types, said HDB, which added that the average rejection rate at the flat selection stage in the past is 40 per cent.

For three-room and bigger flats, all the five BTO projects across mature and non-mature estates have first-timer application rates of 1.7 or lower for one or more flat types – meaning that there were fewer than two applicants vying for each flat, based on numbers at 11am.

“With these application rates, first-timers who applied for these flats stand a good chance of being invited to book a flat,” said HDB.

“Among these projects, successful applicants of Jurong West Crystal and Brickland Wave will also be able to move into their new homes earlier, as they have shorter waiting times of about 3.9 years (or 47 months) and four years (or 48 months) respectively,” it added.

The exceptions, based on application rates published on HDB’s website, are for four-room flats at Kallang Whampoa where there are two projects – Rajah Summit and prime location project Farrer Park Fields. There are more than 5,900 applicants thus far for the 1,422 flats on offer.    

The application rate for these flats is 2.9 for first-timers and 28.2 for second-timers.

HDB said first-timers who have been unsuccessful in two or more attempts for BTO flats in the non-mature estates will be given an additional ballot chance at their subsequent application for a BTO flat in the non-mature estates.

“From our records, virtually all first-timer applicants of BTO flats in non-mature estates had a chance of booking a flat within their first three tries. In fact, about nine in 10 had a chance to book a flat within two tries,” it added.