Ensuring HDB Resale Market Remains Affordable to Aspiring Home Owners

Mr Xie Yao Quan asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry assesses that the current HDB resale market remains affordable to aspiring homeowners.

The recent increase in prices can be partly attributed to a broad-based increase in demand for housing, supported by the current low interest rate environment. Nonetheless, HDB resale flats continue to remain affordable. On average, the mortgage servicing ratio (MSR), which is the proportion of monthly income used to service mortgage instalment payments, has remained at 23% among resale flat buyers taking an HDB housing loan, over the past three years. This means that first-timer buyers generally have little or no cash outlay in servicing the payments for their resale flats as their mortgage loans can be paid using their CPF contributions. This is made possible as the Government provides housing grants of up to $160,000 to ensure resale flats remain affordable for eligible first-timer families.

The Government will continue to monitor the housing market conditions closely and ensure that Singaporeans have access to affordable public housing.