19,600 BTO flats to launch this year, including 3,800 units with waiting time of under 3 years

SINGAPORE: About 19,600 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will be launched in 2025, as part of the government's efforts to boost public housing supply and meet rising demand.

Among them, 3,800 flats – or nearly 20 per cent – will have shorter waiting times of under three years, said Minister for National Development Desmond Lee in an interview with CNA Digital, the Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao earlier this week.

In addition, the Housing Board plans to offer more than 5,500 units in February via its largest-ever Sale of Balance Flats exercise. This brings the total number of flats for sale this year to over 25,000.

The flats will include Standard, Plus and Prime flats – the three categories under a revised classification framework – in locations such as Kallang/Whampoa, Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Mount Pleasant, Woodlands, Yishun and Sembawang.

With this year's offering, the government is on track to launch about 102,300 BTO flats between 2021 and 2025, exceeding its earlier commitment of 100,000 units over the five-year period, said Mr Lee. 

“We have ramped up supply quite dramatically,” he told reporters.

He added that the government's next target is to launch 130,000 new flats by 2027, which means another 30,000 flats can be expected to go on sale in the next two years.

TACKLING PANDEMIC-INDUCED CHALLENGES

This increased housing supply addresses challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted construction, materials and labour, causing delays in BTO completions. At the same time, demand surged due to demographic shifts and pandemic-related factors, driving up resale prices after years of stagnation.

Almost five years on, Mr Lee said the government has resolved many of these issues, including clearing the backlog of delayed projects. The last batch of pandemic-delayed flats will be handed over to home owners within weeks, he said.

The ramp-up in supply has also lowered the average application rate for first-time buyers. Across all flat types, the rate fell to 2.1 in 2024 from 3.7 in 2019. For three-room and larger flats, the rate dropped to 2.2 from 4.0 in the same period. 

More flats with shorter waiting times are being offered, rising from 732 in 2023 to 2,876 in 2024 and 3,800 this year.

While this is becoming a "major feature" of the BTO supply, Mr Lee cautioned that availability will depend on land resources and application rate trends.

To address housing affordability amid rising resale prices, the government has introduced cooling measures and enhanced grants for first-time buyers.

He said the government is “not averse to putting in new measures” to ensure that the property market stays aligned with economic fundamentals. 

But it must consider the cooling measures that are still working their way through the market, the significant housing supply that will eventually come on stream, as well as uncertainties in the global economic and geopolitical environment.

CHANGES COMING UP

In the year ahead, Mr Lee said the government is committed to initiatives to accommodate singles. Starting mid-2025, singles will be included in schemes that prioritise those applying for flats to live with or near family.

The new Family Care Scheme (FCS) will be rolled out in two phases to replace the existing schemes that reserve priority access for married couples and their parents.

“We expect this will be a second driver in demand from singles and that's why we are committed to launching more two-room flats,” the minister said.

Additionally, more two-room flats will be offered, with one in four units in February's launch catering to the growing demand from singles.

February’s BTO exercise will also see a reduction in queue numbers issued – from three times to two times the number of flats available – due to a decline in applicants failing to select a flat.

The introduction of stricter penalties in October 2023 has reduced the non-selection rate from 40 per cent to about 19 per cent.

The latest adjustment is expected to give buyers “more certainty” when planning their next steps, Mr Lee said.

"The aim is to help genuine home buyers, particularly first-timers, to be able to get their flats,” the minister told reporters. 

“Will there be further tweaks and changes along the way? I’m sure there will be … let's see how we can further optimise."

The government also plans to unveil the 2025 Draft Masterplan later this year, detailing land use and development strategies for the next 10 to 15 years. This iteration will focus on sustainability, heritage and climate resilience, rather than population growth, said Mr Lee.