By Kenny Chee

HE HAD claimed in a letter to The Straits Times Forum last month that he was unsuccessful in bidding for a flat on 18 counts.

But the Housing Board told the media yesterday that this claim by Mr Soh Say Kiat was not entirely true.

In reality, Mr Soh, a first-time flat applicant, had made 12 applications, the HDB pointed out.

Of these, three were for new flats and nine were for completed flats, which are more limited in supply.

Furthermore, for three of Mr Soh's flat applications, he had been given chances to select a flat, including a build-to-order (BTO) flat. But he chose to reject the offers.

The HDB said that Mr Soh did not have an urgent need for a flat and also had the option of staying with his parents or parents-in-law, who owned three- and four-room flats, with one to two spare bedrooms.

The HDB highlighted this case and two others to disprove the claims of some first-time flat buyers that they failed to be offered a flat after numerous tries.

On several occasions, they had rejected flat offers, the HDB said.

It added that the success rate for first-timers in booking a BTO flat within two tries is a high 96 per cent.

Other public-housing issues were also addressed yesterday, amid recent concerns that the supply of HDB flats is not sufficient.

On the worry about the influx of foreigners snapping up flats and crowding out citizens, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan reassured Singaporeans that the HDB has factored in their numbers when building flats.

He said: "Those new flats would filter into the resale market eventually."

Only citizens can buy completed flats under the sale-of balance flats exercise and BTO flats. Permanent residents and foreigners can buy only resale flats.

Mr Mah said that foreigners are allowed to buy resale flats "because they need somewhere to stay", adding that Singaporeans will still have enough public housing because of BTO flats.

Newly-wed engineer Steven Lee gave up a chance to book a completed flat near an MRT station, as it did not get enough sunlight in the mornings.

"But now, if I can't get a flat of my choice, I don't mind some trade-offs like getting a flat that is farther from the train station," the 31-year-old said.

For more my paper stories click here.

Is this article useful to you?