In the middle of apprehensions regarding the growing prices of resale housing units, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan gave the assurance on Monday that Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats are still within most Singaporeans’ affordability threshold.

Minister Mah said that on average, first-time households use below 30 percent of their income to pay for their housing loan repayments, a figure considered by the Government as affordable.

Furthermore, eight in ten households qualified as recipients for several of the Government’s grants. The Government would also provide grants even to Singaporeans who intend to purchase resale housing units.

Mah answered queries from four MPs regarding the affordability of HDB units. One of the MPs, Jessica Tan of East Coast GRC, was concerned that young couples and newlyweds could not qualify for the Government’s housing grants. She proposed that the currently enforced $8,000 income cap be raised. The said ceiling is required for a buyer to be qualified for a new HDB flat or to be eligible to receive the grant to purchase a resale unit.

Minister Mah, though, rejected Ms. Tan’s request. “There must be a limit to the number who can qualify,” he said.

For households which earn a little higher than the $8,000 ceiling, Mah said that the Government will launch more executive condo sites by next year. First-time home buyers who earn less than $10,000 can obtain a $30,000 grant.

Minister Mah also identified two further measures which make HDB home units affordable. First is the additional grant given to households whose income is below $5,000 to facilitate their first home acquisitions.

The second is the income caps imposed on home buyers of new three- and two-bedroom homes, at $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.

However, even as Minister Mah emphasised the affordability of HDB units, he agreed that a household has to make a trade-off between location and price.

The options available for households that earn $4,000 a month are: a new five-bedroom home in Woodlands or Punggol, a resale five-bedroom home in Woodlands, a four-bedroom home in popular estates like Tampines, or a three-bedroom home in mature estates like Toa Payoh.
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