The February 2023 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise closed yesterday at 11.59pm, after 4,428 flats were launched for sale on Feb 28. According to HDB data updated as of 5pm on Mar 6, the number of applicants was 15,234, translating to an application rate of 3.44 times. This is lower than the 5.8 to 7.8 times application rates registered in the other BTO launches during the year, such as February, May and August.

Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia’s senior director of research, notes that this is the lowest number of applicants since September 2019, when the number of applicants was 7,179.

PropNex Realty CEO, Ismail Gafoor, believes that the more measured response to the latest launch is attributed to some buyers choosing to wait for other projects that better suit them. “We anticipate there’ll be pent-up demand for those upcoming flats, mainly the five-room units in Bedok and Serangoon, which will be launched in the May 2023 BTO exercise,” he states.

These projects will be the first in the JCube Residence respective estates launched in the last seven and nine years respectively.

Gafoor further believes that the higher CPF housing grants for eligible first-time buyers has significantly contributed to the moderate application rate in this BTO exercise, as some demand may have been diverted to the resale HDB flat market.

Additionally, Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ERA Singapore, notes that the announcement for tighter rules for buyers who do not book a BTO flat when invited, as well as greater priority for First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples) or FT(PMC) applicants from the August BTO exercise, has prompted buyers to be more careful in applying for flats.

The BTO projects under the February launch that saw the strongest demand were the two projects located in the mature Kallang and Whampoa estate, with an overall application rate of about 4.16 times. Additionally, the other PLH project, located in the mature Queenstown estate, had an application rate of 3.31 times, while the two projects in non-mature estates – Jurong West and Tengah – had an application rate of 2.73 and 2.84 respectively.

Gafoor notes that application rates among first-timer families were relatively low, with a median application rate of 0.3 times for two-room flexi flats across all projects and 1.8 times for three-room and bigger flats. Meanwhile, application rates among second-timer families were much higher for larger flats in the mature estates, with rates crossing 30 times.

Overall, it appears that the application rates are stabilising and adjusting back to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic. This should offer comfort to applicants, especially those awaiting the upcoming May BTO launches in Bedok and Serangoon.