Table of Contents
Housing grants for first-time homebuyers of Housing Board resale flats will rise from $30,000 for families buying four-room or smaller flat to $10,000 for those purchasing five-room or bigger units.
In an effort to assist more Singaporeans in realizing the dream of house ownership, the government has announced that young married couples with kids aged 40 and under would be eligible for an extra Build-To-Order (BTO) flat vote.
Assisting Young Couple for their Home Purchase
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced these policies in his Budget statement on Tuesday, saying they were designed to help young Singaporeans achieve their housing goals.
There are some Singaporeans who are interested in purchasing a resale flat as their first property, but he said that the current market pricing makes that option unattractive.
To help first-time families afford HDB resale apartments with two to four bedrooms, the Central Provident Fund Housing Grant has been increased from $50,000 to $80,000. As of now, purchasers of homes with five or more bedrooms are eligible for a $40,000 bonus, up to $50,000.
A family must consist of at least two local Singapore citizens or one Singapore citizen and a permanent resident in order to receive the award. Individuals applying for a flat in New York City must meet certain requirements before they would be considered, including a lack of past housing assistance, a monthly income of less than $14,000, and a lack of private property ownership or interest during the last 30 months.
CPF housing grants for single first-time buyers of HDB resale flats have been increased from $25,000 to up to $40,000 for apartments with four rooms or less. The bonus for purchasing a five-bedroom apartment has been increased to $25,000.
Housing Grant Eligibility
Singaporean nationals over the age of 35 who have never received a housing subsidy, do not earn more than $7,000 per month, and have not owned or had an interest in a private residence over the last 30 months are considered “first-timer singles” and are eligible to apply for a subsidised flat.
The enhanced incentive is available to qualified purchasers who submit their resale applications beginning at 3.30pm on Tuesday. Beginning in April of 2023, they will see the increased funds added to their CPF account.
Those who filed their resale applications before Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. but are still waiting for them to be processed will also be eligible for the increased grant. As National Development Minister Desmond Lee said on Tuesday via Facebook post, this would make it easier for those who may otherwise have to cancel and resubmit an application.
HDB Resale Transaction may take up to 12 weeks to process.
Both the Proximity Housing Grant of up to $30,000 for families and the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $80,000 for families are available to first-time buyers of HDB resale apartments.
For the purchase of a previously-owned apartment, first-time families are eligible for incentives of up to $190,000. Grants of up to $95,000 are available to those who are starting a family for the first time.
New Cooling Measures to Keep Prices Affordable
Mr. Wong pointed out that the government has introduced cooling measures to temper demand in the resale market, and he predicted that the launch and completion of further BTO developments over the next few years will further reduce demand and resale flat prices.
At the moment, first-time family applicants are given preference for BTO flats since they take up the lion’s share of the reserved supply. At least 95% of the supply of BTO apartments with four bedrooms or more is reserved in both established and developing developments.
Mr. Wong, however, pointed out that anybody may apply under the “first-timer” category, not only individuals who have never received housing assistance previously.
Given the diversity of first-time candidates and the present shortage of BTOs, Mr. Wong argues that more targeted assistance should be offered.
Therefore, he said, first-time homebuyers with children and young married couples under the age of 40 are the emphasis.
With the extra vote, “we will do more to assist such families get their BTO units in a timely way,” he added.
Details on when this will go into effect in 2023 will be released in March.
Iqbal Mohamed, 38, a commercial manager, is purchasing a two-bedroom HDB resale property in Punggol for $310,000 through the singles plan, and he thinks the increased grant of $40,000. The two-bedroom rate is a little steep, but taking the local market as a whole, it’s definitely the best deal I can find. I’m relieved by the larger grant amount since it’ll cut down on my regular payment, he remarked.
Joseph Chong, a 32-year-old information security specialist, plans to use the extra grant money to consolidate his debt and save more money in his Central Provident Fund (CPF) for his retirement.
He and his wife are eligible for the enhanced $80,000 grant, so they decided to purchase a four-bedroom HDB resale property in the Canberra neighborhood for $600,000. When they add in the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, they’ll have more than $100,000 to put toward a down payment on a house. We considered waiting for a BTO property, but ultimately concluded that buying a resale flat was preferable than renting, despite the growing resale costs. These awards are important to us because they allow us to avoid completely draining our CPF savings.
