Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sunday also announced that first-timer families with or expecting children will get additional ballot chances – a move that will “significantly improve” their chances of getting a flat.
This builds on existing schemes that offer priority to those eligible, such as the First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples) category and the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme.
While the latest initiative will benefit families, especially larger ones, who have yet to secure their first BTO flat, it is difficult to ascertain how many such first-timer families there are. In many instances, couples would typically apply for a BTO flat before they start planning for children.
Meanwhile, the additional ballot chance does not apply to second-timer families. In many cases, families choose to upgrade to a bigger flat with the arrival of more children. Some of these families may be priced out of the resale and private property markets but are unable to secure a larger flat to house their growing families.
While HDB has increased the allocation quota of three-room and larger flats for second-timer families since July last year, this group continues to face high oversubscription rates for new flats. For example, at the recent BTO sales exercise in June, the median application rate for three-room and bigger BTO flats among second-timer families was at 14.3.
Given this close link between family life stages and housing needs, our housing policy should also consider how to support families as they grow.