For the October 2023 sales launch, about 6,800 BTO flats will be offered in 4 towns – Choa Chu Kang, Kallang/ Whampoa, Queenstown and Tengah. About 75% of the BTO flats on offer this sales launch have a wait time of 4 years or less.

BTO flats are priced with generous discounts below their market value, and made even more affordable with grants of up to $80,000. For the projects in Choa Chu Kang and Tengah, which are non-mature estates, at least 95% of 4-room and larger flats will be set aside for first-timer families.

Policy changes

If you’re thinking of applying for a BTO flat, here are two important policy changes that will take effect from this launch:

Additional Ballot Chances, More Flats Set Aside for First-Timers (Parents & Married Couples)

If you’re a parent, or newlywed who has yet to successfully book a BTO flat in the past few years— good news!

As announced earlier this year, a new category, First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples), or FT(PMC) in short, will be introduced to help young families own a flat and settle down quickly. If you qualify as an FT(PMC) applicant, you can enjoy:

• An additional ballot chance: Together with the 2 ballot chances that first-timer families already receive, you will have a total of 3 ballot chances when you apply for any flat type in any estate.
• Priority under the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme (FPPS), which is the enhanced version of the Parenthood Priority Scheme. Up to 40% of BTO flats will be set aside under the FPPS.
• First priority under the FPPS when applying for 4-room and smaller BTO flats in non-mature estates, like Choa Chu Kang and Tengah. You will be shortlisted ahead of other FPPS applicants, and stand a higher chance of being invited to select a flat!

Read more on these policy changes in our article.

Tighter Rules for Non-Selection of Flat

Rules will also be tightened for the non-selection of flats, to ensure that applicants with more pressing needs can secure their new home more quickly.

• First-timer families who accumulate one non-selection count will be considered second-timer families for a year
• Second-timer families, seniors and first-timer singles who accumulate one non-selection count will have to wait one year before they can apply for a flat again

You can learn more about the tightened non-selection rules in our article.

BTO Projects on Offer

Grants and Priority Schemes

Families with household income of up to $14,000 can buy BTO flats. Eligible first-timer applicants can also receive CPF housing grants of up to $80,000. Singles with an income of up to $7,000 are also eligible to purchase 2-room Flexi flats in non-matures estates and receive a CPF housing grant of up to $40,000. To better your chances of getting a flat, consider applying under one of the HDB priority schemes if you’re eligible.

Useful Tips for Flat Buyers

Before applying for your flat, read up on the flat buying process. You must have a valid HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter before you can apply for a BTO flat. It takes about a month to process an HFE letter after HDB receives all the required documents. Applicants without a valid HFE letter would not be able to apply for a flat in this sales launch.

• Information on BTO flats on offer is available on HDB Flat Portal, where you can check out all the details and apply online. You do not have to visit HDB Hub to get the information.
• You can only submit 1 application for 1 flat type and 1 location during each sales exercise.
• To boost your chances of success, look out for projects with lower application rates. You can check the application rates the HDB Flat Portal, which is updated several times a day throughout the application window.

Applicants are shortlisted via a computer ballot and are not processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Just remember to submit your application before the end of the sales launch.