There have been fewer unsuccessful applicants under the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS) for each Build-To-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise over the last few years, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Monday (Mar 13).
In response to a question by MP Tin Pei Ling, Mr Khaw said the average number of unsuccessful MCPS applicants per BTO/SBF exercise has dropped from 724 applicants in 2011 to 578 applicants in 2014.
For applications under the BTO exercises, the average number of unsuccessful applicants halved from 511 in 2011 to 241 in 2014, he added.
Success rates for MCPS applications averaged 59 per cent, the minister said, noting the number of successful applications was 7,500, 11,000 and 9,600 in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. As for the first nine months of 2014, 5,000 applications were successful.
In terms of applications received during this time frame, the minister said there were 14,000, 18,100 and 15,700 received in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively, while the nine months in 2014 saw 8,400 applications.
“We have offered more than 100,000 new BTO flats between 2011 and 2014. This has cleared the demand backlog for first-timers. Today, almost all young couples, including those who apply under the MCPS, are successful in their first application for a BTO flat in the non-mature estates,” Mr Khaw said.
“Last November, we also converted the MCPS to a quota-based priority scheme, to give greater assurance to families who wish to stay near or together.”
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 13 Apr 2015