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Waiting times for flat application portal cut to 3-20 minutes after delays on day 1 of May BTO launch: HDB

SINGAPORE — The waiting time to access the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) online flat application portal has improved and ranges from three to 20 minutes as of Wednesday (May 31) morning, HDB said in Facebook post.

The May BTO sales exercise was launched on May 30, 2023.

The May BTO sales exercise was launched on May 30, 2023.

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  • Flat buyers faced long waiting times in HDB's virtual waiting room on its flat portal on Tuesday (May 30), the first day of the May 2023 BTO sales exercise
  • In a Facebook post on Wednesday, HDB said that it had enhanced the system and reduced the waiting time in the portal to between three and 20 minutes
  • A flat buyer told TODAY that he had to wait for more than an hour in the virtual waiting room on Tuesday, and was met with an error message at the BTO application page
  • HDB attributed the long wait times to the high BTO application volume and people applying for the new HDB Flat Eligibility letter for the first time

SINGAPORE — The waiting time to access the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) online flat portal has improved and ranges from three to 20 minutes as of Wednesday (May 31) morning, HDB said in Facebook post.

The post came a day after netizens took to the agency's Facebook page to air their grievances over long waiting times, some allegedly several hours, in the portal's virtual waiting room and website glitches on the first day of the May Build-to-Order (BTO) sales launch. 

In its post on Wednesday, HDB said it was aware of feedback about long waiting times in the virtual waiting room on Tuesday, which was the first day of the May sales launch.

Close to 7,000 new and sale of balance flats were launched in Bedok, Kallang-Whampoa, Serangoon and Tengah.  

“We have been adjusting some system parameters since yesterday (Tuesday) and made further enhancements early this morning (Wednesday), to reduce the waiting time in the virtual waiting room," its post said.

We have been adjusting some system parameters since yesterday (Tuesday) and made further enhancements early this morning (Wednesday), to reduce the waiting time in the virtual waiting room.
HDB Facebook post

“The waiting time to access the HDB flat portal has since improved, and ranged from about three minutes to 20 minutes this morning,” said HDB.

One flat buyer told TODAY he waited for more than an hour on Tuesday.

The virtual waiting room feature on the flat application webpage was rolled out during last November’s BTO sales launch.

If many applicants access the system at once, they will be directed to the virtual waiting room and given a real-time indication of how long they would need to wait before proceeding to the next step of their application.

In a written answer to a parliamentary question last year, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said that the virtual room has helped to “smoothen the application process and provide more certainty to flat applicants on the estimated waiting time before they can submit their online applications”.

Flat buyer Ethan Wong told TODAY that he tried entering the site at 9.15pm on Tuesday, but could only go in one hour and 15 minutes later.

“But there was no point because the website crashed and we got an error message,” said the 26-year-old senior public relations executive.

Mr Wong, who wants to apply for a flat in Tengah, said that he gave up submitting his application for a BTO flat and will try again on Sunday after returning from an overseas vacation.  

Several Facebook users posted their grievances on the system’s glitches on HDB’s Facebook page on Tuesday.

Facebook user Nurul Farisah said that she was “stuck” on the website for more than five hours and unable to proceed with her flat application despite trying to access the site on multiple devices.

Another user by the name of Tinghui Michelle said that she was stuck at the “deferred assessment” section for the whole of Tuesday and earlier on Wednesday, and was unable to submit the application successfully.

Other users said that they encountered error messages when trying to apply for the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter on Tuesday. This letter was introduced earlier this month to streamline the purchase process for buyers.

GLITCHES DUE TO HIGH APPLICATION VOLUME, FIRST-TIME SUBMISSION OF HFE

HDB said that the long waiting time could be due to factors such as the higher application volume due to the combined launch of BTO and sale of balance flats, the popularity of mature estate projects in the launch and applicants who enter the portal to look at the flats on offer.

HDB added that applicants are shortlisted via a computer ballot and not on a first-come-first-served basis. As such, they can submit their applications anytime before the end of June 5.

The agency also said that the long waiting time could be caused by applicants applying for the HFE letter for the first time for this month’s sales launch.

Applications for the letter opened on May 9 to give flat buyers sufficient time to work out their financial plans and obtain at least a preliminary flat eligibility assessment prior to the May sales launch, said the agency.

“Most of those who have obtained their preliminary HFE assessment over the past three weeks will be able to apply for a flat in this sales launch,” said HDB.

However, for those who have completed their preliminary HFE check but are still unable to apply for a flat, HDB said that they can fill up HDB’s e-feedback form on its website.

“As HFE is being implemented for this sales launch for the first time, we seek the understanding and patience of our buyers as we work through the system issues experienced over the last two days,” said the agency.

Related topics

Housing and Development Board BTO HDB Resale Portal

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