Applying for a Build-To-Order (BTO) HDB Flat is an important milestone for many Singaporeans, especially for first-time homeowners. After spending $10 to make the initial application, you may be interested to know when you can receive the results and the much-anticipated ballot ‘queue number’.
This article will estimate how long you can expect to wait for your BTO application results to be released by HDB, and also explain why there is a period before we can receive our results. Let’s go!
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How long do BTO application results usually take to be released?
As of early 2023, it usually takes about a month for BTO application results to be released from the application end date.
If you’re a homeowner-to-be applying for a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat, you will certainly be excited to know when you can get a result for your ballot. Although HDB does not give a fixed date for the results, we can approximate it using data from previous BTO exercises.
Using timestamps from HDB’s Telegram page, the Application End Dates and the Ballot Result Release Dates can be obtained. By calculating the duration between these two dates, we can estimate how long we need to wait to find out our application results.
BTO Exercise | Application End Date | Result Release Date | Approx. Duration |
---|---|---|---|
Nov 2022 | 1st Dec 2022 | 9th Jan 2023 | 5.5 weeks |
Aug 2022 | 5th Sep 2022 | 12th Oct 2022 | 4 weeks |
May 2022 | 2nd Jun 2022 | 29th Jun 2022 | 4 weeks |
Feb 2022 | 23rd Feb 2022 | 15th Mar 2022 | 3 weeks |
Nov 2021 | 23rd Nov 2021 | 13th Dec 2022 | 3 weeks |
Aug 2021 | 17th Aug 2021 | 6th Sep 2021 | 3 weeks |
From the past 6 BTO exercises, it takes an average duration of about 3.75 weeks for BTO application results to be released from its end date. We can also observe that the waiting duration is longer in the recent exercises, with applicants having to wait at least a month.
Given recent results, you may expect to wait at least a month or more from the Application End Date before you can find out your application results.
Why does it take so long for BTO application results to be released?
Application results for Build-To-Order (BTO) Flats take a while to be published, as HDB takes a few steps during the balloting process to ensure that each ballot number is allocated fairly.
Many Singaporeans may know that HDB processes applications in every BTO sales exercise through computerised balloting. However, not many know the balloting process is not as straightforward as choosing a number in lotteries such as 4D or TOTO!
Firstly, HDB conducts eligibility checks to ensure each applicant’s eligibility to:
Buy a BTO Flat from HDB
Before you apply for a BTO flat, you will need to meet various eligibility criteria such as:
- Applicant Profile (Couples, singles, seniors, etc)
- Citizenship of Applicants (e.g. for couples and families, the applicant must be Singaporean, and the family nucleus include at least one other Singaporean or Permanent Resident)
- Age (At least 21 years old for couples and families and 35 years old for singles)
- Monthly household income ceiling
- Ownership in other property
Once these criteria are satisfied, HDB may then conduct further checks to confirm applicants’ eligibility to:
Fulfill Priority Schemes
As a BTO applicant, you may apply for up to 2 priority schemes per application if you can fulfil the eligibility conditions. As a fixed percentage of BTO flats are allocated to the various priority schemes, applicants applying under priority schemes enjoy an advantage in getting a spot on the ballot.
However, you do not get any priority for a small queue number. In other words, you get a higher chance to join the queue under a priority scheme, but do not know exactly where you are placed within it!
You can read more about the eligibility conditions of the various priority schemes here.
With the eligibility criteria for the profile and priority scheme of each applicant profile confirmed, applications will then be shortlisted through:
Computer Shortlisting and Allocation of queue numbers
BTO applications usually exceed the supply of flats available. Take the application rates for the BTO projects launched in November 2022 for example:
Non-Mature Towns/ Estates
Project | Flat Type | No. of Units | No. of Applicants | Application Rate | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First-timers | Second-timers | Overall | ||||
Bukit Batok (West Glades) | 3-room | 84 | 171 | 0.9 | 9.0 | 2.0 |
4-room | 207 | 511 | 1.8 | 16.5 | 2.5 | |
5-room | 168 | 597 | 2.2 | 29.8 | 3.6 | |
Tengah (Garden Waterfront I and II) | 3-room | 89 | 326 | 1.5 | 16.2 | 3.7 |
4-room | 740 | 1933 | 1.9 | 16.2 | 2.6 | |
5-room | 670 | 2849 | 2.6 | 35.2 | 4.3 | |
Yishun (Vanda Breeze) | 3-room | 91 | 383 | 2.1 | 17.0 | 4.2 |
Yishun (Vanda Breeze/ Miltonia Breeze/ Aranda Breeze) | 4-room | 917 | 1422 | 1.1 | 10.5 | 1.6 |
5-room | 795 | 1410 | 1.0 | 16.6 | 1.8 |
Mature Towns / Estates
Project | Flat Type | No. of Units | No. of Applicants | Application Rate | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First-timers | Second-timers | Overall | ||||
Kallang Whampoa (Kallang Horizon) | 3-room | 72 | 550 | 3.2 | 111.3 | 7.6 |
4-room | 405 | 4561 | 7.1 | 92.3 | 11.3 | |
Queenstown (Ghim Moh Natura/ Queensway Canopy/ Ulu Pandan Banks) | 3-room | 587 | 557 | 0.3 | 13.2 | 0.9 |
4-room | 2443 | 5652 | 14 | 18.8 | 2.3 | |
Total (Non-mature and mature estates) | 7268 | 20922 | 1.8 | 22.6 | 2.9 |
An application rate of more than 1.0 indicates an overdemand for available flats.
In consideration of the limited supply, HDB may conduct a shortlisting of all the applications made based on factors such as:
- Applicants’ household status
- Flat type applicant is applying for
- Allocation quotas of the different priority schemes the applicant is applying for
Due to a large number of priority schemes available (more than 10!), it takes a while to complete the entire complex balloting process.
Usually, HDB will shortlist applicants up to 3 times the flat supply. After the shortlisting process, queue numbers will be allocated randomly to the shortlisted applicants.
The random allocation ensures that the balloting process remains fair for all, regardless of applicant profile and priority scheme.
Release of ballot results
After rounds of audits and counter-checking, HDB will finally announce the balloting results to all applicants via SMS, emails, hardcopy letters and other means.
The following infographic summarises the balloting process:
Conclusion
Applying for a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat is an exciting and possibly nerve-wracking experience for Singaporeans, especially when waiting for the release of the application results. Therefore, it is useful to note that application results usually take about a month to be released from the closing date.
Furthermore, BTO application results may take a while to be released, as HDB undergoes a rigorous process of confirming the eligibility of all applicants, shortlisting them, and counter-checking each process before releasing the results.
I hope this article gave you a greater understanding of the BTO application process. Do check out this page for more guides on HDB-related topics!
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