BTO Key Collection Waves and Why Renovation Slots Fill Up Fast

HDB completed about 19,600 flats across 28 projects in 2025, with a median wait of about four years from booking to keys, and in January 2026 it had 127 housing projects under construction, up from 110 a year earlier. The launches keep coming too: about 19,600 BTO flats are being offered across 2026 in Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Sembawang, Toa Payoh, Tampines, Woodlands and Yishun, with a further 7,960 or so due in the November exercise in Bedok, Geylang, Sembawang, Tengah, Toa Payoh and Yishun. Every one of those projects turns into a key collection wave a few years later, and because flats in the same project are handed over together, each wave lands on one estate at once.

When thousands of owners across the same handful of estates collect keys within a similar window, renovation firms in those areas see demand spike at the same time. Booking slots fill up faster than usual, and firms with a fixed, realistic project pipeline can't simply squeeze everyone in without stretching timelines. If your project is one of the ones handing over keys, the practical advice is straightforward: start your design proposal conversation as soon as you have your keys, or even slightly before if your temporary access permit allows a site visit, rather than waiting a few months and finding your preferred slot already booked.

A first-home renovation is exciting, and it's tempting to want everything to move immediately. A realistic renovation still takes 9 to 12 weeks depending on scope, whatever the surrounding demand looks like. Rushing a firm into a shorter timeline than the work actually needs is how corners get cut. Book early, but expect the timeline itself to stay honest.