The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has nearly cleared its supply of unsold flats as it faces a steady demand for public housing. In the previous fiscal year, the agency also offered more flats, incurring a higher deficit in the process.

“We have largely cleared our unsold stock,” Tay Kim Poh, chief executive of HDB, said at a briefing on the annual report of the board for FY08/09 ended March. “We still have some balance units here and there . . . the number is a very small number.”

HDB held approximately 1,500 completed flats in 2008 and about 3,500 flats in 2007, based on previous reports.

HDB launched the Sale of Balance Flats exercise last month as there were only a few flats left unsold, according to Mr. Tay. Under the scheme, once the agency has accumulated an adequate number of flats, it will offer flats from previous build-to-order (BTO) exercises, repurchases, and selective en-bloc redevelopment schemes.

HDB released 2,132 flats and received 20,691 applications, nearly 10 bids per available flat.

In FY08/09, the agency offered more units, awarding 14,754 residential flats, up by 46 percent from last year. This made the development and sale costs, along with the released amount of CPF housing grants, to increase. Home ownership activities incurred $1.55 billion deficit, showing a 54 percent increase.

As more precincts participated in interim upgrading plus programmes and lift upgrading, upgrading activities also posted a larger deficit. The deficit grew 35 percent to $696 million.

Overall, net expenditure had grown 23 percent year-on-year to $5.15 billion in the fiscal year 2008/2009.

In 2009, HDB released 8,057 units under its 12 BTO projects, and one balloting exercise for its 992 surplus units. It also launched 1,058 units under its two design, build & sell scheme (DBSS) development projects.

For 2010, the agency has not yet decided on the supply of its new BTO units. “We will monitor the demand,” said Mr. Tay, adding that HDB is planning to launch additional sites for DBSS.
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