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Minister for National Development, Desmond Lee, has announced that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) is planning to launch more than 25,000 new flats in 2025. This was stated in a joint press release by HDB and the Ministry of National Development (MND) on Jan 16.
The new launches will include approximately 19,600 build-to-order (BTO) flats across three sales exercises and more than 5,500 sale of balance flats (SBF) in one SBF sale exercise. These flats will be a mix of Standard, Plus and Prime BTO flats under the new classification framework.
In the upcoming February BTO launch, around 5,000 units will be offered in Kallang/Whampoa, Queenstown, Woodlands, and Yishun. Additionally, HDB will also conduct its largest-ever Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise next month, offering over 5,500 flats across various estates. Of these, approximately 40% are ready units while the rest are in different stages of construction, expected to be completed between 2025 and 2028.
In total, the February BTO and SBF exercises will offer over 10,000 new flats. Over the past four years, from 2021 to 2024, HDB has launched about 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 increase in BTO supply has resulted in a drop in application rates, with the average first-timer application rate for BTO flats across all flat types being 2.1 in 2024, compared to 3.7 in 2019 before the pandemic. For three-room and larger flats, the average first-timer application rate in 2020 was 2.2, down from 4.0 in 2019.
Minister Lee has assured that HDB will continue to release a steady pipeline of flats to meet housing demand in the next few years. Over 50,000 flats are expected to be launched between 2025 and 2027, bringing the total to about 130,000 flats from 2021 to 2027.
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Around 3,800 of the 19,600 new flats, or about one-fifth of the BTO flats set to be launched in 2025, will be Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats of less than three years. This is an increase from the 2,876 SWT flats offered in 2024 and more than the committed annual supply of 2,000 to 3,000 SWT flats.
According to Lee Sze Teck, Senior Director of Data Analytics at Huttons Asia, the SWT flats will provide more options for buyers and may attract some demand away from the resale market. He also estimates that about 7,000 HDB flats will reach their five-year minimum occupation period (MOP) in 2025, the lowest supply of such resale flats since 2015. This larger flat supply and SWT flats will address the shortfall in MOP flats. Huttons’ Lee also expects that HDB resale flat transactions will range between 26,000 and 28,000 in 2025, with prices expected to grow at a slower pace of 5% to 8% compared to the 9.6% increase in HDB’s flash estimate for 2024.
In summary, the HDB will be launching more than 25,000 new flats in 2025, including 19,600 BTO flats and 5,500 SBF flats. Over the next few years, HDB will continue to release a steady pipeline of flats, with over 50,000 expected to be launched between 2025 and 2027. Additionally, a significant number of Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats will be offered in 2025, addressing the shortfall of MOP flats.