S’poreans To Get BTO Flats Faster With Shorter Waiting Period & Earlier Release of Project Info

If you don’t know anyone who has been unsuccessful in bidding for a BTO flat five times in a row, you ain’t my friend.

Editor: Huh?

Well, because that’s me.

Editor: Oh, yeah, I still don’t know such a person.

To be fair though, my five unsuccessful bids came via a stubborn insistence on landing myself a prized unit at Bidadari.

But can you blame me really, since I’ve only ever lived in another once-desolate-cemetery turned-residential-area-darling: Bishan.

That said, I’ve put my disappointment behind my behinds, and it looks like the Government too, is forging ahead with new, better, and planning-friendly plans for BTO applications.

Halved Waiting Times and Earlier Announcements for BTO Projects

According to ST, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong announced telling measures, in a move to “keep housing affordable and accessible for Singaporeans.”

In a nutshell, Housing and Development Board (HDB) will now announce new projects six months ahead of time, in place of the current three months.

They’ll also cut down waiting time for ballot results by half, from six weeks to three.

So you’ll know earlier if you need to apply again, or stress over the upcoming ROM deadline. 

These changes will take effect in the May exercise; meaning “buyers will know which projects will be launched in August and November” and these details include the location, the number of units and the flat mix.

The expanded Build-to-Order (BTO) announcement schedule will allow would-be homeowners to plan accordingly; comparing current sale of Balance Flats (SBF) or the Re-offer of Balance Flats (ROF), against upcoming BTO projects, and deciding if they should put in an application for current projects or hold off till the next BTO launch.

Rolling Re-offer of Balance Flats (ROF)

Currency, was in fact, the impetus that bought about yet another change last month.

In February, HDB announced that ROFs would be available “on a rolling basis, available for booking any time” according to this ST report.

First introduced in 2017, and not to be confused with Sale of Balance Flats (SBF), the ROFs was previously conducted just twice a year.

In addition, while there is a need to indicate preferred flat type and town/estate during an SBF application, which is typically held in conjunction with a BTO launch, the ROF on the other hand is an amalgamation of all previously unsold BTO/SBF units.

This means that ROF applicants do not need to indicate their preference for flat type and town/estate.

Instead, a computer ballot will take place and based on queue number given, an applicant will be able to select from any flat from the amalgamation across all locations and flat types from the ROF.

Additionally, while applicants previously had to wait for a week to know of their ROF application results, the waiting time has been shortened to just a day with the February announcement.

All these measures introduced is akin to buying TOTO in the morning and potentially striking gold in the evening, every day.

With all these changes, it should be easier for would-be home buyers to make calculated and informed decisions, way in advance of any BTO launch.

Not for me though.

For me, I’ve moved on, but admittedly, it was hard to bid my Bid-dar-darling goodbye.