estimate
HDB to launch more than 25,000 new flats in 2025, including shorter waiting time flats
HDB has announced that it will be launching over 25,000 new flats in 2025, according to a joint press release by HDB and the Ministry of National Development (MND) on Jan 16. This includes approximately 19,600 build-to-order (BTO) flats across three sales exercises and over 5,500 sale of balance flats (SBF) in one SBF sale exercise. The units will be a mix of Standard, Plus, and Prime BTO flats under the new classification framework.
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced the upcoming launch and emphasised the importance of meeting housing demand in the next few years. “We will continue to release a steady pipeline of flats to meet housing demand in the next few years,” said Minister Lee.
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The February BTO launch will offer approximately 5,000 flats in Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Woodlands, and Yishun. Next month, HDB will also conduct its largest-ever Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, offering over 5,500 flats across various estates. About 40% of the flats in the SBF exercise are completed units, while the rest are at different stages of construction and are expected to be completed between 2025 and 2028. In total, more than 10,000 new flats will be available under the February BTO and SBF exercises.
Over the last four years, from 2021 to 2024, HDB has launched approximately 82,700 BTO flats. With a planned pipeline of 19,600 BTO flats in 2025, HDB is on track to launch around 102,300 BTO flats – exceeding its commitment of 100,000 units over five years.
The ramp-up in BTO supply has resulted in a drop in application rates. In 2024, the average application rate among first-time homebuyers for BTO across all flat types was 2.1, compared to the pre-pandemic rate of 3.7 in 2019. The average first-timer application rate last year for three-room and larger flats was 2.2, down from 4.0 in 2019.
HDB will continue to release a steady pipeline of flats to meet housing demand in the next few years, says Minister Lee. Over 50,000 flats will be launched between 2025 and 2027, bringing the total to approximately 130,000 flats from 2021 to 2027.
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One-fifth of BTO flats in 2025 will be Shorter Waiting Time flats
About 3,800 of the 19,600 new flats, or approximately one-fifth of the BTO flats slated for launch in 2025, will be Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats with a waiting time of less than three years. This is a boost from the 2,876 SWT flats offered in 2024 and exceeds the committed annual supply of 2,000 to 3,000 SWT flats.
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“The SWT flats will also increase the options for buyers and may attract some demand away from the resale market,” says Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia.
More resale flats hit their minimum occupation period in 2025
In 2025, an estimated 7,000 HDB flats will reach their five-year minimum occupation period (MOP), making it the lowest supply of such resale flats since 2015. “With HDB assuring buyers that they will push out more BTO and SBF flats to meet demand, this will offer more choices for buyers and stabilise the resale market,” says Lee.
He adds that this larger flat supply and SWT flats will address the shortfall in MOP flats. Huttons’ Lee estimates that HDB resale flat transactions in 2025 will range between 26,000 and 28,000, lower than the 28,876 units recorded last year. Resale flat prices are expected to grow at a slower pace of 5% to 8% this year, compared to the 9.6% increase reflected in HDB’s flash estimate for 2024.
To learn more about HDB properties and track their prices and rental transactions, visit https://www.edgeprop.sg/hdb-articles.
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