SINGAPORE - From Aug 24, all Singaporean families buying a Housing Board (HDB) resale flat near or with their parents or married children will get a grant of $20,000, regardless of their income and whether they have received housing subsidies before.
Eligible singles will get $10,000 if they buy a resale flat to live with their parents.
The quantum of the new Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) was among the details released jointly by the Ministry of National Development (MND) and HDB on Monday, following Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's announcement of housing policy changes in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday.
With the new grant, resale buyers who are enjoying a subsidy for the first time, and moving close to their parents or married children, will get $10,000 more than what they would have received under the previous Higher-Tier CPF Housing Grant. Singles will get $5,000 more than before. The Higher-Tier CPF Housing Grant will be discontinued.
Furthermore, resale buyers who were previously ineligible will now be able to enjoy the PHG. This group includes private property owners, who will have to sell their private property within six months of buying their resale flat.
All Singaporeans can enjoy the PHG only once. Grant recipients and their parents or married children must live near or with each other for at least five years after the resale purchase.
At the National Day Rally, Mr Lee also announced the raising of the income ceiling for HDB flats from $10,000 previously to $12,000, and for executive condominiums from $12,000 previously to $14,000. This move also kicks in from Aug 24.
These new income ceilings apply not just to the purchase of new homes, but also to the eligibility criteria of CPF Housing Grant for resale flats and the tiered CPF Housing Grant for executive condominiums. This means that more Singaporeans will be able to receive such grants.
The income ceiling for single Singaporeans buying two-room Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be raised accordingly from $5,000 to $6,000, as it is half of the overall income ceiling.
Another announcement was the increased Special CPF Housing Grant (SHG) for lower- and middle-income first-time BTO buyers, and a higher SHG income ceiling of $8,500.
Starting from the next BTO launch in September, the maximum SHG amount will be $40,000, up from $20,000 now.
Households earning up to $7,000 a month will enjoy the full $20,000 increase. Households earning more than $7,000 and up to $8,500, who are newly eligible for this grant, will get $5,000 to $15,000 depending on their income.
Together with the existing Additional Housing Grant of up to $40,000, this means that low-income first-timers could receive up to $80,000 in grants. Some new two-room flats cost even less than that.
MND and HDB said that when the grant amount exceeds 95 per cent of the BTO price, buyers will need to pay 5 per cent of the flat price in cash or using their CPF. For instance, for a $75,000 flat, they only have to pay $3,750. Any excess grant amount can be used to pay for optional items such as flooring, or will go into their CPF.
