HDB responds to S'pore woman who said she failed 13 times to get a BTO

A woman in Singapore reportedly applied for a Build-to-Order (BTO) flat around 13 times over about three years, but was unsuccessful in all her attempts.

In a TikTok video posted on Mar. 3 to the account she shares with her sister (@xinandxuan), the woman, surnamed Chua, described her experience balloting for flats.

She questioned why some of the projects she had applied for had unsold units that were eventually offered under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, rather than being offered to applicants who had queue numbers during the initial applications.

Singapore's Housing and Development Board (HDB) has since responded, saying that such flats are eventually offered in the SBF exercise to give all Singaporeans an opportunity to apply.

The statutory board also noted that "all her applications were for flats in popular locations". 

Had been trying for three years

In her video, Chua referenced an article by The Straits Times regarding "muted" demand for Plus and Prime HDB flats amid stricter resale conditions for first-time buyers, saying she did not believe the headline reflected her experience.

She highlighted figures from the article, which showed the percentage of unsold flats in several projects including Ulu Pandan Vista and Bukit Merah Ridge.

Chua said she had applied for the Bukit Merah Ridge project, which was shown to have 28 per cent of three-room flats and 16 per cent of four-room flats listed as "balance units".

According to her, she was given the queue number 3,120 during her application, which exceeded the 1,226 units available.

She was told she would be notified if any flats became available during the selection process, but she said she did not receive any notification.

"If you look at the graph... it showed there were leftover units," she said. "I understand that sometimes people might have selected a unit and you know, kind of give it up, but for over 200 units to be given up, I don’t think it's making sense sense."

Screenshots shared in her post, some dating back to 2021, showed multiple unsuccessful ballot attempts.

Chua said some might assume the reason why she was unsuccessful was because she applied for only highly sought-after areas, which she responded to by saying, "But let me tell you, all we get is exceeded flat supply, we were never asked to go down to select a unit."

In 2023, Chua said she contacted the Member of Parliament for her constituency regarding the issue, but was advised to wait for the ballot results.

"It was so pointless and tiring because at this point we tried for about three years, and for about 13 times, and it was just going nowhere," Chua said.

She also recalled being invited to book a flat for a 2023 Kallang Whampoa project, but said she was informed on the day of her appointment that she did not need to attend as all four-room flats for Chinese applicants had already been taken.

Chua eventually gave up and bought a resale flat instead.

Concluding the video, she said she hoped the process could be communicated more clearly and that applicants could have fairer chances.

She was also quick to clarify that she did not expect to be given a unit just because she had balloted multiple times.

Chua said she simply felt it was "unfair" that the projects she applied for was never available to her, while reports later showed that they were "undersubscribed" with leftover units.

@xinandxuan The BTO game won in the end, just my two cents on the balloting process. #sghomes ♬ original sound - Xin & Xuan

HDB responds, explains how SBF exercise works

In a Facebook post on Mar. 14, HDB responded to the video.

It said flats offered in SBF exercises typically consist of unsold, unselected or returned units from previous BTO launches.

These flats become available only after all eligible applicants from the BTO sales launch have selected their flats, taking into consideration ethnic quota limits.

"Some of these earlier selected flats may subsequently be returned or cancelled due to a change in the applicants’ plans and circumstances," HDB said.

The flats are then offered through an SBF exercise so that all Singaporeans, not just the original applicants from the BTO launch, have an opportunity to apply through what HDB described as a "fair and transparent process".

Chua invited to select SBF flat but did not do so: HDB

HDB added that Chua had applied 11 times for four-room flats in BTO and SBF exercises between November 2020 and May 2023.

It noted that she had applied for flats in popular locations such as Kallang Whampoa and Bukit Merah, "where demand significantly exceeded supply".

In her last application under the May 2023 SBF exercise, HDB said Chua was invited to select a flat but decided not to do so, and that she later bought a resale flat using CPF Housing Grants.

"We encourage flat applicants with more urgent housing needs to consider applying for projects with lower application rates to improve their chances of securing a flat," HDB said.

HDB subsequently updated its post to address some of the comments it had gotten.

It said that the median application rates for first-timer (FT) families applying for three-room and larger BTO flats have fallen significantly in recent years.

It noted that the median application rate dropped from a peak of almost seven times in 2020 to between 1.1 and 1.9 times in 2025.

In the most recent February 2026 sales exercise, the median application rate for FT families was 0.9 times—meaning that "all of them will be invited to select a flat, subject to ethnic quotas".

SBF invite was 'too late': Chua

In a follow-up TikTok video on Mar. 15, Chua explained that she was only invited to select a unit nine months after balloting, on Jan. 29, 2024.

It was "too late" by then, Chua said in the caption of her post, which also showed a screenshot of an Option to Purchase contract sent to her on Jan. 4, 2024.

She also clarified in the title of her post that she had balloted 11 times, instead of 13.

First-timer (FT) families get priority allocation in new framework: MND

In an earlier reply to a Parliamentary question on whether unsuccessful first-timer families would still receive additional balloting chances for Build-to-Order (BTO) flats in non-mature estates, the Ministry of National Development said first-timer (FT) families already receive priority under the new flat classification framework.

It noted that HDB sets aside the majority of BTO flat supply for FT families and also gives them priority under various schemes.

For instance, First-Timer (Parents and Married Couples) (FT(PMC)s), receive first priority under the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme when applying for four-room and smaller Standard BTO flats.

Since the introduction of the scheme in October 2023, about 90 per cent of FT(PMC)s who applied for four-room and smaller flats in non-mature estates were invited to book a flat.

Under the new flat classification framework, all FT families who have been unsuccessful in two or more BTO applications for a Standard flat will receive one additional ballot chance for each subsequent application.

FT(PMC) applicants can accumulate up to five ballot chances, while other first-timer applicants can accumulate up to four ballot chances.

MND noted that the previous non-mature estate framework and the new flat classification framework are fundamentally different. As such, additional ballot chances accumulated under the old framework were not carried over to the new system.

However, FT families applying under the new framework will continue to benefit from the priority measures in place.

Top photos from @xinandxuan/TikTok