3,000 balance flats on offer in July 2025, together with 5,400 BTO flats in Clementi, Toa Payoh & more

Around 3,000 flats will be available through a Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise in July 2025.

This follows the largest SBF exercise in history, which offered approximately 5,500 flats in February this year.

Together, these exercises will bring the combined annual SBF supply to about 8,500 flats, the largest since 2017, according to Minister for National Development Desmond Lee in a Facebook post on Apr. 1.

Additionally, about 5,400 flats across seven towns—Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang, Clementi, Sembawang, Tampines, Toa Payoh, and Woodlands—will be offered through a Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise in July.

SBF Exercise

The SBF exercise offers balance flats from earlier BTO exercises, surplus Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) replacement flats, repurchased flats, and more.

These flats are typically under construction, near completion, or completed.

The February SBF exercise saw over 22,000 applicants vying for approximately 5,500 flats on offer.

Those interested in participating in the July SBF and BTO exercises are advised to apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility letter by May 15.

Moderation in price growth

Lee also addressed early signs of moderation in price growth in both the public and private housing markets, amid rising global economic uncertainty.

Prices of HDB resale flats rose by 1.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, according to the flash Resale Price Index (RPI).

This is a decline from the 2.6 per cent price growth in the last quarter of 2024, the lowest growth in the last five quarters.

Lee attributed this moderation to the sustained supply of BTO flats as well as the SBF exercise in February 2025.

Maintaining strong housing supply

"We will maintain a strong supply of housing to meet the needs of homebuyers," Lee said.

To further stabilise the property market, the Housing & Development Board (HDB) will launch more than 50,000 BTO flats from 2025 to 2027.

This will include about 12,000 Shorter Waiting Time flats, with waiting times of two years or less.

Supply tightness in resale market

Lee also addressed the current supply tightness in the resale market.

He explained that fewer flats are reaching the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), partly due to Covid-19-related construction delays.

However, the number of new flats reaching MOP will significantly increase, from 8,000 this year to 13,500 in 2026.

This number will continue to rise, reaching 19,500 flats by 2028.

“This means that more resale flats will enter the market soon, and the supply tightness will ease,” he added.

Private housing

Private housing prices increased by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, compared to a 2.3 per cent growth in the last quarter of 2024, according to the flash Private Residential Price Index (PPI).

The price momentum for non-landed properties eased across all market segments, and total sale transaction volume also declined by 15 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Authorities have also been progressively increasing the overall private housing supply through the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, Lee shared.

Additionally, 1,000 Executive Condominium (EC) units will be launched in the second quarter of 2025, bringing the total EC supply to 2,000 units for the entire year — the highest EC supply in recent years.

Top photo from Canva