SINGAPORE — Public flats offered in Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises may be cheaper than similar units sold earlier in Build-To-Order (BTO) exercises, if prevailing market conditions change, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said in Parliament yesterday.

For instance, if prices of comparable resale flats in the vicinity have softened since the time of the BTO launch, the prices of balance flats may be lower than their original prices, he said in reply to Member of Parliament Low Thia Khiang’s (Aljunied GRC) question on the pricing mechanism of the two types of flats.

Mr Wong said BTO and SBF flats are priced using the same methods, which take into account the prices of comparable resale flats in the area as well as the specific attributes of the flats, such as storey height and design. SBF flats may be more expensive than similar flats offered in a BTO exercise as the units are closer to completion, he said.

Mr Low noted that SBF flats in Matilda Edge in Punggol were cheaper than BTO units earlier offered, and questioned if this was fair to the BTO buyers.

In response, Mr Wong said, “I think that’s fair to all homebuyers because the transaction is done at the point of sale.

“So if the market has come down, then we charge it at a slightly lower price. And this is not a new practice. We’ve been doing it all this while.”

Meanwhile, in the past five years from 2012 to 2016, about two in five applicants invited to select a flat under BTO and SBF exercises did not proceed to book a flat, Mr Wong said in reply to another question from Pasir Ris-Punggol MP Gan Thiam Poh.

The top three reasons given were that their preferred units had been taken up; the invitees wanted to apply for flats in other sales exercises; or they had changed their minds and wanted to consider other housing options, said Mr Wong.

The number of flat applicants shortlisted by the Housing and Development Board is up to three times the flat supply, and the average time taken to complete the selection of a BTO exercise is about six months, while that for an SBF exercise is about 10 months.

Flats that are not booked are consolidated for future SBF exercises, he said. Flat applicants who are not shortlisted are informed, so that they may make other plans.