HDB ready to increase BTO supply beyond 55,000 flats if demand remains strong: Chee Hong Tat

Additional supply could help ease resale price pressures and shorten waiting times

Jan 8, 2026

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The government is prepared to increase the supply of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats beyond its current target of 55,000 units between 2025 and 2027 if demand remains strong, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said.

Speaking to the media on Thursday (Jan 8), Mr Chee said he had asked the Housing & Development Board (HDB) to be ready to exceed the target.

“If the demand for new flats remains strong, I’ve asked HDB to go beyond 55,000 flats so that we are able to meet the strong demand with a robust supply,” he said.

Increasing the supply of new flats would improve access to BTO homes and help moderate resale prices by diverting some demand away from the secondary market, he added.

HDB plans to launch about 19,600 BTO flats in three sales exercises in February, June and October this year. The figure is broadly similar to the approximately 19,700 flats offered in 2025.

More than 4,000 of the flats will have waiting times of less than three years. The launches will include Standard, Plus and Prime flats in areas such as Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah and Tampines.

HDB currently has 127 public housing projects under construction, up from 110 a year earlier. The board remains on track to offer about 55,000 flats between 2025 and 2027.

“With these developments, we hope to make further inroads into improving accessibility and affordability of HDB BTO flats and resale flats,” Mr Chee said, adding that there had been “some initial signs of progress in both areas”.

Resale price growth slows

The HDB resale market recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of slower price growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, after prices rose 0.4 per cent in the third quarter.

For the full year, resale flat prices increased 2.9 per cent, less than a third of the 9.7 per cent growth recorded in 2024. This was the slowest annual increase since 2019, when prices rose 0.1 per cent.

Year-on-year growth in the official resale price index was also lower than the 2.6 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.

Mr Chee said more flats were expected to reach their minimum occupation period in 2026, adding to resale supply and helping to moderate prices.

Demand for BTO flats has also eased from the levels seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. Application rates, which reached about seven times during the pandemic, fell to between 1.1 and 1.9 times in 2025.

Mr Chee said BTO flats would continue to be priced with household incomes in mind. The government’s aim is to keep both the housing price-to-income ratio and mortgage servicing ratio at affordable levels for buyers.

Asked whether the government might raise the BTO income ceiling or remove the 15-month wait-out period for private property owners seeking to buy resale HDB flats, Mr Chee said the authorities were monitoring market conditions.

“We want to make sure that when we increase the income threshold, or when we lower the age for singles, or when we remove the 15-month waiting time, we want to do so at a point when market conditions are right,” he said.

Easing these rules could create additional demand, he noted. Without sufficient supply, buyers could face longer waiting times.

“The strategy is to increase the supply, keep up a robust supply of BTO flats to be able to meet the strong demand,” Mr Chee said.

19,600 flats completed in 2025

HDB completed about 19,600 flats across 28 housing projects in 2025. The median waiting time was about four years.

Three of the completed developments — Parc Clover @ Tengah, Hougang Olive and Yishun Boardwalk — had shorter waiting times.

Several projects, including MacPherson Weave and Costa Grove, were completed about three months ahead of their original probable completion dates, HDB said.

The final four public housing projects in Bidadari — ParkEdge @ Bidadari, ParkView @ Bidadari, Bartley Beacon and Bartley GreenRise — were also completed during the year.

Their completion marked the delivery of all 12 public housing developments planned for the 93-hectare Bidadari estate. Together, the projects provide 8,872 homes, following the launch of the first developments in 2015.

The first BTO projects in the estate — Alkaff CourtView, Alkaff Vista and Alkaff LakeView — were launched in November 2015.

Upgrading ageing estates

The government will continue programmes such as the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme and Silver Upgrading Programme to support the upgrading of ageing HDB estates, Mr Chee said.

More details on the next tranche of the Home Improvement Programme will be announced when ready.

The government is also studying the voting threshold for the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme.

Mr Chee acknowledged that some recent Home Improvement Programme exercises had faced difficulties, with certain blocks struggling to secure the required 75 per cent support.

He said the government would consult stakeholders on whether the process could be improved.

Private housing supply to remain strong

About 12,000 private homes are expected to be launched in 2026, similar to the number launched in 2025 and about 50 per cent higher than in 2024.

“If demand remains strong, we will be able to release more land through the Government Land Sales programme, and this will be both a combination of the confirmed sites and also the reserve sites,” Mr Chee said.

“We do have more land that we can release.”