2025 BTO supply
Jan 16, 2025
25,000 new flats will be launched in 2025
- Includes about 19,600 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and more than 5,500 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF). Of the 19,600 BTO flats, 3,800 units are Shorter Waiting Time flats with waiting time of less than three years
- Including the 2025 supply, HDB will have launched about 102,300 BTO flats, exceeding the target of launching up to 100,000 flats from 2021 to 2025
- The largest ever SBF exercise will be conducted in February 2025, with about four in 10 units already completed
In an interview given to media earlier this week, Minister Desmond Lee announced that HDB will launch over 25,000 new flats in 2025. This includes about 19,600 BTO flats across three sales exercises and more than 5,500 SBF flats in one SBF sale exercise. Home buyers can look forward to a good mix of Standard, Plus and Prime BTO flats under the new flat classification framework in various locations such as Kallang/Whampoa, Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Mount Pleasant, Woodlands, Yishun and Sembawang.
Over the last four years, HDB has ramped up the supply of BTO flats to meet the increased housing demand in recent years. From 2021 to 2024, we launched about 82,700 flats. Minister Desmond Lee said, “To address demand-supply imbalance arising from COVID-19 disruptions, we have ramped up supply in recent years. With the planned offer of another 19,600 BTO flats in 2025, we are on track to launch about 102,300 BTO flats from 2021 to 2025, exceeding our commitment to launch 100,000 new flats over the 5-year period.”
| Year | Flats Launched* |
| 2021 | 17,100 |
| 2022 | 23,200 |
| 2023 | 22,800 |
| 2024 | 19,600 |
| 2025 | 19,600 (planned) |
| Total | 102,300 |
*Rounded to the nearest hundred
With the ramp-up in BTO supply, the application rates for BTO flats have reduced. As a result, flat applicants now stand a higher chance of being invited to book a flat. In 2024, the average application rate for first-timer home buyers across all flat types (excluding Community Care Apartments) was 2.1, well below the pre-pandemic rate of 3.7 in 2019. For 3-room and larger flats, the average first-timer application rate was 2.2, similarly down from 4.0 in 2019.
Minister assured that HDB will continue to put out a steady pipeline of flats to meet housing demand in the next few years, and will launch more than 50,000 flats between 2025 (inclusive) – 2027, with a total of about 130,000 flats from 2021 to 2027.
About 3,800 Shorter Waiting Time Flats on Offer in 2025
Of the 19,600 new flats slated for launch in 2025, 3,800 flats (almost one-fifth of the 2025 flat supply) will be Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats with wait times of less than three years. This is a significant increase from the 2,876 SWT flats offered in 2024, and more than our committed annual supply of 2,000 to 3,000 SWT flats.
HDB will continue to roll out more SWT flats each year wherever possible, and work towards reducing the waiting time of the other BTO flats, to support first-timer flat buyers in setting up their first homes.
Helping Young Families Secure Their Flats Sooner
First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples) Category
From the October 2023 BTO exercise, HDB has introduced the First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples)[1] or FT(PMC) priority category, to provide additional support for a subset of first-timers who may have more pressing housing needs. Under the FT(PMC) priority category, married couples as well as families with young children receive one additional ballot chance for their BTO/Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) flat applications, on top of the two ballot chances that other first-timer families receive. This means that they will receive a total of three ballot chances when they apply for any flat type in any estate. They also receive first priority under the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme (FPPS), when they apply for a 4-room and smaller Standard BTO flat. Up to 40% of the BTO flat supply, and up to 60% of the SBF flat supply, is set aside for FPPS.
With first priority under FPPS, Minister updated that about nine in 10 first-timer parents and married couples, on average, who applied for a 4-room and smaller flat in the non-mature estates were invited to book a flat in the BTO sales exercises where flat booking has been completed[2]. We will continue to monitor, but we expect first-timer parents and married couples who apply for a 4-room and smaller Standard BTO flat in upcoming sales exercises to continue to have a high chance of booking a flat.
Decline in non-selection rate
To ensure more efficient allocation of flats, the rules for non-selection of new HDB flats were tightened from the October 2023 BTO exercise[3]. Minister shared that, since then, the proportion of BTO flat applicants who did not book a flat when invited has halved – from 40% previously to about 19% over the three BTO launches where the booking exercises have been completed. This has enabled flat buyers to secure their flats more quickly. Flat applicants are encouraged to book a flat when given a chance to do so and avoid incurring a non-selection count[4].
With the lower non-selection rate, almost all flats are now booked by applicants within the first 200% of the flat supply. “From the Feb 2025 sales exercise onwards, HDB will shortlist applicants up to 200% of the total flat supply, instead of up to 300%[5]. This change will improve system efficiency, enabling HDB to serve shortlisted applicants faster,” explained Minister. Flat applicants without a queue number can also make housing arrangements earlier or proceed to apply for the next BTO/SBF sales exercise without having to wait for a flat booking appointment.
Upcoming Sales Exercise in February 2025
In February 2025, HDB will offer about 5,000 BTO flats in Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Woodlands and Yishun. At the same time, HDB will hold the largest-ever SBF exercise, offering more than 5,500 flats across various towns/estates[6]. About four in 10 of the flats to be offered in the SBF exercise are completed units, while the remaining units are in various stages of construction with expected completion dates from 2025 to 2028. In total, more than 10,000 new flats will be offered under the BTO and SBF exercises in February 2025. The details of the BTO and SBF flats will be shared at the February 2025 sales exercise.
HDB is committed to providing affordable and accessible housing options to buyers, and will continue to monitor the housing demand closely, making adjustments where necessary.
Issued by: Ministry of National Development and Housing & Development Board
Date: 16 January 2025
[1] To qualify under the FT(PMC) category, applicants must be:
(a) Families with at least one Singapore Citizen child aged 18 and below, or married couples aged 40 and below; and
(b) Have never owned or sold a residential property before; and
(c) Have not had a chance to book a BTO/SBF flat in the past five years prior to their flat application.
[2] Flat booking exercises have completed for Oct 2023, Dec 2023, and Feb 2024 sales exercises.
[3] Under the current non-selection rules, first-timers, including those under FT(PMC) category, who accumulate one non-selection count (lowered from the two counts previously) will be considered second-timers for a year in the computer ballot. Second-timers who accumulate one non-selection count (lowered from the two counts previously) will have to wait one year before they can apply for a flat again.
[4] HDB will waive the non-selection count for applicants with 10 or fewer BTO flats or five or fewer SBF flats to choose from.
[5] Flats that are not booked will be re-offered in subsequent sales exercises.
[6] The new flat classification framework will not apply to existing HDB flats and non-Prime Location Public Housing flats launched before the October 2024 BTO exercise, when these units are re-offered for sale in SBF exercises.