Snap Insight: Bigger grants for first-time resale HDB buyers provide relief, but may have knock-on impact on prices
If the grants are taken up by many buyers, the strain on government budgets could mean that taxpayers may be asked to shoulder additional pain, says industry expert Ku Swee Yong.
HDB flats in Singapore. (File photo: TODAY/Ooi Boon Keong)
SINGAPORE: The question of affordable public housing has been in the spotlight for quite some time now, amid a rise in the number of million-dollar flats and concerns of families being priced out of the market.
In response to those concerns, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech on Tuesday (Feb 14) announced up to S$30,000 in additional grants for families buying resale flats for the first time. Â
For eligible families buying four-room flats or smaller, the CPF Housing Grant will increase to S$80,000 from S$50,000 previously. Families who buy larger-sized resale flats will get S$50,000, up from S$40,000 previously.
Taken together with the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant and the Proximity Housing Grant, eligible families may receive grants of as much as S$190,000 to purchase resale flats, up from S$160,000.
First-timer singles will also get larger grant amounts, but at half that of families.
