“Cooling measures” or new policies to help the rich buy HDB resale flats?
Opinion: The increase in resale HDB flat grants to S$230,000, compared to just S$120,000 for BTO flats, raises questions about fairness. Wealthier buyers face fewer hurdles, while lower-income families must wait years for a BTO flat. The recent Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio cut from 80% to 75% may also disproportionately impact the less affluent.
The maximum housing grants for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats have
just been increased to S$120,000, with eligibility based on income means testing—households with an income not exceeding S$1,500 can receive the maximum grant of S$120,000.
In stark contrast, the maximum grant for resale flats has been increased to S$230,000, and there is no income means testing. The only requirement is that the household income ceiling must not exceed S$14,000.
This raises an important question: Why are we providing more substantial financial assistance to, arguably, wealthier individuals to purchase more expensive resale flats, while offering less to those who may only be able to afford BTO flats?
For instance, households with an average monthly income of S$8,501 to S$9,000 receive only a S$5,000 grant for BTO flats, while those with a household income just below S$14,000 can receive up to S$230,000 in grants for resale flats.
Moreover, the recently announced decrease in the Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio from 80% to 75% may have little impact on wealthier individuals, who can still comfortably finance their purchases.
In fact, in many cases, the 5% reduction in LTV for resale buyers may be outweighed by the S$40,000 increase in the grant.
For example, a reduction of S$50,000 in LTV for a loan up to S$800,000 may be less significant than the S$40,000 grant increase. This raises the question of whether this is truly a “
cooling measure” or if it actually benefits wealthier buyers even more.
This further highlights the disparity, as those with greater financial means are less affected by such changes, making it easier for them to take advantage of the substantial grants for resale flats.
https://gutzy.asia/2024/08/21/cooli...licies-to-help-the-rich-buy-hdb-resale-flats/