When the sales exercise was launched on Tuesday, some applicants aired their grievances on HDB’s Facebook page, writing that they were stuck in the portal’s virtual waiting room (VWR) for hours.
Others complained that the application process for the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter was disrupted, with some encountering error messages despite having completed the preliminary HFE assessment.
HDB addressed the complaints in a Facebook post on Wednesday, saying: “We have been adjusting some system parameters since yesterday and made further enhancements early this morning, to reduce the waiting time in the VWR.”
It attributed the long waiting times to several factors like higher application volume due to the combined BTO and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) and the inclusion of popular mature estate projects in the current sales exercise.
Applicants applying for the HFE letter for the first time could have also contributed to the long wait, said HDB.
It added on Wednesday that the waiting time had been reduced to a period of three to 20 minutes, while the VWR had not been triggered as of Thursday evening after the adjustment of system parameters.
The VWR feature for flat applications was rolled out during last November’s sales launch. Applicants are redirected to the VWR when too many users access the system concurrently.
They are given an estimated waiting time notification before proceeding to the next step of their application.
HDB also added that more applicants had completed their preliminary HFE checks and that it had “progressively resolved” some glitches over the last two days.
It is working on further enhancements to smoothen the process and improve the system’s overall performance.
Home buyers who require assistance with their applications can also fill up a feedback form for HDB to follow up.
“We know that many applicants have been inconvenienced by the system glitches over the past two days and understand their concerns,” said HDB.
“We are sorry for the negative service experience, and would like to assure them that we are reaching out to assist those who are facing issues.”