HDB launched 9,655 flats for sale today under the November 2022 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise. This is the largest BTO offering ever in a single launch. The bumper crop of flats is spread across 10 projects in both mature and non-mature estates in Kallang Whampoa, Queenstown, Bukit Batok, Tengah, and Yishun, with around 60% (5,861 units) offered in non-mature estates. This makes up almost half the number of flats offered in non-mature estates in the whole of 2022.

2 HDB’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tan Meng Dui said, “The November 2022 BTO launch is the largest BTO sales exercise yet for HDB. The bulk of the almost 10,000 flat supply, or close to 6,000 new flats, are located in non-mature estates (NMEs). This number is in fact bigger than the total flat supply of a typical BTO sales exercise, thus offering a wide range of affordable flats for homebuyers. With 95% of 4-room and larger flats in this bumper crop set aside for first-timer households, and additional ballot chances for them, we encourage first-time applicants to apply for flats in the non-mature estates to increase their chances of securing a new BTO flat.”

3 Together with 1,071 units offered under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, a total of 10,726 new flats are offered in this sales exercise. As with earlier sales launches, applications for these new flats are shortlisted using a computer ballot and not on a first come-first served basis, so applicants need not rush to make their flat applications and may do so anytime from today (23 November) to 1 December 2022 (Thursday).

Wide Selection of Affordable Flats Offered for Different Budgets and Needs

4 A wide selection of flats, ranging from Community Care Apartments to 5-room flats, is offered in this BTO exercise to meet diverse housing needs. With significant subsidies, the flats are priced considerably lower than the transacted prices of comparable resale flats. In fact, in non-mature estates, all the 4-room flats, which is the most common flat type for HDB launches, offered in this sales exercise are priced below $400,000. The starting prices before and after the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) are set out in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Flat Prices in November 2022 BTO Exercise

Town	Project	Flat Type	Selling Price (Excluding Grants)	Selling Price (Including Grants ^)	Transacted Prices of Resale Flats Nearby ^#
Non-Mature Towns
Bukit Batok	West Glades @ Bukit Batok ~	2-room Flexi	From $105,000	From $25,000	-
		3-room	From $206,000	From $131,000	-
		4-room	From $309,000	From $249,000	$460,000 - $585,000
		5-room	From $405,000	From $360,000	$645,000 - $665,000
Tengah	Garden Waterfront I & II @ Tengah ~	2-room Flexi	From $111,000	From $31,000	-
		3-room	From $214,000	From $139,000	-
		4-room	From $307,000	From $247,000	$460,000 - $585,000
		5-room	From $428,000	From $383,000	$645,000 - $665,000
Yishun	Vanda Breeze @ Yishun ~ Miltonia Breeze @ Yishun Aranda Breeze @ Yishun ~	2-room Flexi	From $84,000	From $5,000 +	$290,000 - $305,000
		3-room	From $175,000	From $100,000	$390,000 - $415,000
		4-room	From $248,000	From $188,000	$450,000 - $525,000
		5-room	From $366,000	From $321,000	$560,000 - $628,000
Mature Town
Queenstown	Queensway Canopy	CCA* (30-year Lease)	From $82,000	From $5,000 +	-
		3-room	From $392,000	From $332,000	$450,000 - $605,000
		4-room	From $551,000	From $506,000	$790,000 - $900,000
Prime Location Public Housing Model
Kallang/ Whampoa	Kallang Horizon	3-room	From $335,000	From $275,000	$550,000 - $700,000
Kallang/ Whampoa	Kallang Horizon	4-room	From $509,000	From $464,000	$638,000 - $933,000
Queenstown	Ghim Moh Natura Ulu Pandan Banks	2-room Flexi	From $206,000	From $126,000	-
		3-room	From $362,000	From $302,000	$610,000 - $730,000
		4-room	From $516,000	From $471,000	$710,000 - $975,000

Note: Selling prices are rounded up to the nearest thousand dollars.

^ Unless otherwise stated, the starting prices of the flats are based on 99-year leases. For illustration purposes, the assumed EHG amounts are:
i) Community Care Apartment: $80,000
ii) 2-room Flexi flat: $80,000
iii) 3-room flat: $75,000 in non-mature towns and $60,000 in mature town and Prime Location Public Housing Model
iv) 4-room flat: $60,000 in non-mature towns and $45,000 in mature town and Prime Location Public Housing Model
v) 5-room flat: $45,000 in non-mature towns

The starting prices after grant amounts are illustrative, assuming that the household incomes of eligible first-time buyers of flats in the mature towns are higher. The actual grant amount received will depend on the buyers’ income and eligibility.

~ Prices include the costs of floor finishes, internal doors and sanitary fittings.
^# Details on the comparable resale flats can be found on the HDB Flat Portal. In making comparison, please take into account the differences in attributes between the comparable resale flats and the BTO flats.
+ Buyers need to pay 5% of the published price using their CPF and/or cash savings when their EHG amount exceeds 95% of the published price.
* CCA prices include costs of pre-installed senior-friendly fittings and features, and do not include the costs of the mandatory Basic Service Package and optional services.

5 In this sales exercise, after including the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) of up to $80,000, eligible first-timer families can purchase a 3-room flat or a 4-room flat in Yishun from $100,000 or $188,000, respectively. Other examples include:

· An eligible first-timer family earning $3,000 (between 10^th and 20^th income percentile of resident employed households) would enjoy an EHG of $65,000. They can choose to buy a 3-room BTO flat in any project within the non-mature estates of Bukit Batok, Yishun and Tengah, using about 14% to 19% of their household income to pay their monthly mortgage instalments, with no cash outlay.

· An eligible first-timer family earning $5,000 (slightly below 30^th income percentile of resident employed households) would enjoy an EHG of $45,000. They can choose to buy a 4-room BTO flat in any project within the non-mature estates of Bukit Batok, Yishun and Tengah, using about 16% to 21% of their household income to pay for the monthly mortgage instalments, with no cash outlay.

· An eligible first-timer family earning $7,000 (slightly below 40^th income percentile of resident employed households) would enjoy an EHG of $25,000. They can choose to buy a 5-room BTO flat in any project in the non-mature estates of Bukit Batok and Yishun, using about 20% to 23% of their household income to pay for the monthly mortgage instalments, with no cash outlay.

Affordability of BTO Flats Based on Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) and Compared to Nearby Resale Flat Transactions

6 Compared to the transacted prices of comparable resale flats, the new flats are priced significantly lower, with substantial market discounts. The details of BTO flat prices and nearby resale transactions can be found in Annex A.

7 HDB is committed to keeping BTO flats affordable. In 1H2022, 90% of flat buyers who collected the keys to their new flats in non-mature estates and more than 80% of flat buyers who collected the keys to their new flats in mature estates had a Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) of 25% or lower for their HDB loans. This means that these flat buyers can service their HDB loans using their monthly CPF contributions, with little or no cash outlay. On an aggregate basis, almost 90% of flat buyers who collected keys to their new HDB flats had an MSR of 25% or lower for their HDB loans. The median Home Price-to-Income (HPI) ratio for all new flat buyers who collected the keys to their new flats over the same period was 4 or below.

Prime Location Public Housing

8 Three projects – Ghim Moh Natura, Ulu Pandan Banks and Kallang Horizon – are offered under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model. The PLH model aims to ensure that new public housing in prime and central locations remains affordable and accessible for Singaporeans. As PLH flats are priced with additional subsidies on top of the substantial subsidies already provided for all BTO flats, owners of these flats will have to return to HDB six percent of the higher of the resale price or valuation upon the sale of their flats.

9 In Ghim Moh Natura, HDB is providing some 2-room Flexi flats under the PLH model for the first time, to cater to the diverse needs of flat buyers. The subsidy recovery will similarly apply to 2-room Flexi flats sold on 99-year leases. However, the subsidy recovery will not apply to 2-room Flexi flats on short lease as these flats cannot be sold on the open market.

Waiting Times for Projects Launched

10 For BTO projects launched in November 2022, the median waiting time is about 4.5 years. Those who are looking to move into their flats sooner can consider applying for the flats at Garden Waterfront I & II @ Tengah, with the shortest waiting time for this launch, at about 3.3 years (or 40 months).

11 Projects with a large number of dwelling units, higher storeys, challenging site conditions or more complex designs may take a longer time to complete. Nonetheless, the median waiting time of all the BTO projects launched in 2022 remains between 4 to 4.5 years.

Advice to First-time Flat Buyers

12 The vast majority of flats in non-mature estates are set aside for first-timers. With a higher proportion of flats launched in non-mature estates and additional ballot chances for first-timers, first-timer applicants who apply for a BTO flat in the non-mature estates enjoy a higher chance of success in securing a flat.

13 Virtually all first-timer households who applied for a flat in non-mature estates have been invited to book their flat within three tries. Of which, 90% were successful within two tries.

14 Of the projects launched in 2020 and 2021, about 40% of the projects with 3-room or bigger flats had one or more flat types with first-timer application rates of 1.7 and lower. With a BTO rejection rate of about 40%, applicants of these flats stand a good chance of selecting their flats. To increase their chances of securing their new BTO flats, flat applicants can look out for projects with application rates of around 1.7 and lower, on the HDB Flat Portal over the course of the 9-day application window, to increase their chances of securing their new BTO flats.

November 2022 Sale of Balance Flats Exercise

15 HDB will offer 1,071 balance flats at various locations. About 31 per cent of the flats have been completed while the rest are in various stages of construction. Like BTO flats, the SBF flats are heavily subsidised and priced considerably lower than comparable resale flats. The starting prices before and after the EHG are set out in Table 2 below:

Table 2: Starting Flat Prices of November 2022 SBF Exercise

Flat Type	Selling Prices*
Flat Type	Before EHG	After EHG^
Non-Mature Towns
2-Room FlexiFrom $96,000 (99-yr / Remaining Lease)	From $96,000	From $16,000
3-Room	From $191,000	From $116,000
4-Room	From $287,000	From $227,000
5-Room	From $372,000	From $327,000
3Gen	From $403,000	From $358,000
Mature Towns/Estates
2-Room Flexi (99-yr / Remaining Lease)	From $143,000	From $63,000
3-Room	From $260,000	From $200,000
4-Room	From $345,000	From $300,000
5-Room	From $499,000	From $469,000
3Gen	From $602,000	From $572,000

Note: Selling prices are rounded up to the nearest thousand dollars. To check the remaining lease of each block, please refer to HDB Flat Portal

^ The starting prices of the flats are based on 99-year leases/ remaining leases. For illustration purposes, the assumed EHG amounts are:
i) 2-room Flexi flat: $80,000
ii) 3-room flat: $75,000 in non-mature towns and $60,000 in mature towns
iii) 4-room flat: $60,000 in non-mature towns and $45,000 in mature towns
iv) 5-room/3Gen flat: $45,000 in non-mature towns and $30,000 in mature towns

The starting prices after grant amounts are illustrative, assuming that the household incomes of eligible first-time buyers of flats in the mature towns are higher. The actual grant amount received will depend on the buyers’ income and eligibility.

Application for November 2022 BTO and SBF Exercises

16 To allow prospective flat buyers more time to consider the wide range of flats offered, the application period for the November 2022 BTO and SBF exercises has been extended from the typical 7 days to 9 days. Applications for the flats can be made online on HDB InfoWEB from today (23 November) to 1 December 2022 (Thursday). Applicants can apply for only one flat type/category in one town under either the BTO or SBF exercise. There is no need to visit HDB Hub to get the information or make an application. More details on the application procedures can be found in Annex B.

17 All the information on the flats offered is available on the HDB Flat Portal or through scanning the QR code below for quicker access. As part of our continuous improvement towards better service delivery, HDB will be rolling out a virtual waiting room feature on the flat application web page, to better manage the larger-than-expected online application traffic. Should there be many applicants accessing the system at once, the virtual waiting room will be activated to manage the number of requests coming in. Applicants will be directed to the virtual waiting room and given a real-time indication of how long they would need to wait before proceeding to the next step of their application. This will help to smoothen the application process and provide more certainty to flat applicants on the estimated waiting time before they can submit their online applications. We seek the understanding and patience of all our flat applicants as we implement this new feature to ensure a good service experience for all.

18 Applicants without internet access may seek support from their family members. Those who need further assistance, such as seniors without family support, may call the HDB Sales/Resale Customer Service Line at 1800 - 866 3066.

Ramping up flat supply to meet housing demand

19 Together with the flats launched in November, HDB has launched a total of 23,184 BTO flats for sale in 2022. This exceeds our commitment to launch 23,000 BTO flats for the year. Including the 3,023 SBF and 911 flats offered via open booking, HDB has offered a total of 27,118 flats in 2022.

20 Come February 2023, HDB will offer about 4,400 BTO flats in towns/estates such as Jurong West, Tengah, Kallang Whampoa, and Queenstown. In May 2023, HDB will offer between 3,800 to 4,800 flats in towns/estates such as Tengah, Bedok, Kallang Whampoa, Serangoon, and Queenstown. This number is subject to review as more project details will be firmed up closer to the launch date.

21 HDB will continue to monitor the housing demand closely and is prepared to launch up to 100,000 flats in total from 2021 to 2025 if needed.

Almost 10,000 BTO flats across 10 projects offered in November 2022 BTO exercise