by Kenny Chee

ALMOST half of all applicants who were given the chance to buy a new build-to-order (BTO) flat this year had rejected the offer, the Housing Board said yesterday.

This shows that a high number of applications for new flats does not mean that there is an urgent housing need among Singaporeans, it said.

Refuting recent complaints that it is not building enough flats, it said that some applicants, who claimed to have failed multiple times to buy a flat, had actually rejected offers from the board.

In the first half of this year, 2,400 first-time applicants were invited to book BTO flats in non-mature estates. But 45 per cent of them rejected the offers. The drop-out rate was 58 per cent among 14,100 first-timers last year, and 65 per cent among 10,000 applicants in 2007.

One common reason first-timers gave the HDB for not accepting BTO flats - flats built based on demand - is that their preferred units, such as those on a floor they liked, were already taken.

Others were reconsidering other housing options, like buying a completed, resale flat instead. Another reason cited for not selecting a BTO flat is that its completion time of about three years is too long.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said that it is the choice of buyers to reject BTO flats.

"But we make sure they don't jeopardise the chances of people in greater need (of a flat)," he added.

First-time buyers of BTO flats have priority to 90 per cent of these flats. However, since May last year, those who reject two offers to book a BTO flat have been stripped of their priority for a year.

The HDB reiterated that there are 5,000 BTO flats on offer for the rest of the year.

kennyc@sph.com.sg

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