• Singapore’s HDB launched the Build-To-Order (BTO) Scheme on 15 April 2001 as a concept for selling new flats.
• The BTO Scheme was implemented to replace the Registration for Flat System (RFS), which was implemented on 1 October 1994 and allowed homebuyers to apply for flats in HDB estates that were not fully developed. Compared with the BTO Scheme, the RFS only provided buyers with the general location of the flats, which were mainly divided into the North, Northeast and West regions. Other information such as completion time and downpayment were also unavailable.
• Under the BTO Scheme, the HDB will only commence the construction of flats when applications reach 70%, enabling it to better gauge the number of new flats in demand.
• Under the BTO Scheme, the average waiting time for a new flat is around four to five years, depending on the attributes of the individual projects, such as the number of units, design, site conditions and limitations.
• Conditions for applying of a BTO flat include the following: Applicants must be unmarried or married couples, widows, orphans, and single parents, all of which have to be 21 years old and above. For applicants who are singles, they must be 35 years old and above. Applicants must also be Singapore citizens.
• With the increase in marriages and families in 2020, the demand for BTO flats increased by 70%, with applications reaching 87,800.
• To give first-time flat applicants a higher chance of success, HDB adjusted the priority system to reserve more units for them.

Under the current Build-To-Order (BTO) Scheme, homebuyers are faced with waiting times of up to five or six years, from the point of application to the collection of keys. (Lianhe Zaobao, 11/10/2016)

• During the property market boom of the 1990s, HDB built more flats to meet housing demands. However, in 1997, the Asian Financial Crisis caused the demand for flats to plummet, resulting in HDB taking more than five years to sell off the remaining 31,000 units.