Sworn in as Singapore’s fourth Prime Minister earlier in May this year, PM Lawrence Wong delivered his maiden National Day Rally (NDR) speech on Sunday, 18 August 2024, in three languages – Malay, Mandarin, followed by English.
In last year’s NDR speech, PM Lee Hsien Loong announced the new classification framework for HDB, which will be officially rolled out in October 2024’s Build-To-Order (BTO) sales exercise.
This year, PM Wong gave a recap on the new classification framework and addressed concerns about housing affordability, noting that high prices of resale flats have been a hot topic of late. In this article, we will be giving a quick rundown of the housing updates announced in this year’s National Day Rally.
Enhanced CPF Housing Grant for First-Timers, Lower-Income Couples
PM Wong announced that plans are in the works to provide further financial support for first-time homebuyers, especially lower-income couples, under the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG).
Currently, families can get up to $80,000 and singles can get up to $40,000 under the EHG when buying their first new or resale HDB flat.
The government plans to increase the housing grants for lower-income couples to keep housing accessible and affordable for all Singaporeans. Specifics will be announced by the Ministry of National Development (MND) at a later date.
HDB, MND On Track To Launch 100,000 BTO Flats By 2025
In his National Day Rally speech, PM Wong attributed the rise in HDB resale prices since 2020 to the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused significant disruption in the construction industry and slowed down the supply of new flats.
The government has since moved to roll out cooling measures to stabilise the market and is working to ramp up the supply. PM Wong announced that the MND, which pledged to launch 100,000 BTO flats by 2025, is on track to hit its target. It will surpass 80,000 flats by December 2024, and all BTO projects delayed by the pandemic will be completed by early 2025.
He added that the waiting time for current BTO projects averages around 4 years, and the government aims to reduce it further to less than 3 years by building ahead of demand.
The new HDB classification framework, which categorises flats into Standard, Plus, and Prime, will be officially rolled out in the upcoming October BTO sales exercise. The sales exercise will see 15 projects launching in several townships such as Bayshore, Kallang/Whampoa, Sengkang, and more. The October BTO sales exercise will also see the launch of HDB’s pilot ‘White Flats’, which features homes with no beams and partition walls to separate living spaces.
BTO Flat Application Priority Extended To Singles
Currently, only married couples have access to a priority scheme which enables them to enjoy a higher priority in the BTO ballot if they are applying to live near their parents, under the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS).
Recognising that there are singles who wish to live near their aged parents as well, the government plans to extend the BTO flat application priority to those in the singles group.
From mid-2025, singles will be able to apply for a BTO flat and enjoy a higher priority in the ballot if the selected project is within 4km of their parents’ home. However, the age eligibility of 35 years old will still apply.
Closing Thoughts
It is evident from this year’s National Day Rally speech that the government is keeping an extremely close eye on the public housing market, with many policy updates and cooling measures in place to keep it stabilised and sustainable. Accessibility and affordability is on the forefront of it all, with the government ramping up supply to ensure that the demand is met and all Singaporeans have equal opportunity to public housing.
What do you think about these updates? Were there more policy changes that you were hoping to see? If you need help navigating the property landscape or want to know how these changes may affect your property journey, do reach out to us here and we will be glad to walk you through the considerations. See you in the next one.
