Additional CPF Housing Grant

3.29 Through the Government’s home ownership scheme, we have helped many Singaporeans to become homeowners, and to have a valuable asset which can help see them through their retirement. Currently, all families who buy similar flats enjoy the same subsidy, regardless of whether they are well off or poor. But other things being equal, lower-income families buying a flat should receive bigger subsidies. We will do so in two ways – by giving them an additional CPF Housing Grant, and providing them with more affordable housing options.

3.30 The additional housing grant will be paid into the CPF Ordinary Accounts of HDB flat buyers. The grant will be on top of existing housing subsidies. In line with the Workfare principle, at least one of the flat buyers must have been working for two years prior to the flat purchase to qualify for the grant. First-timer citizen households with monthly incomes of up to $3,000 will be eligible, whether they are buying new or resale HDB flats. The grant ranges from $5,000 to $20,000. Households with a monthly income of up to $1,500 will receive the maximum grant of $20,000. We will extend the grant to households earning between $1,500 and $3,000, but at a lower quantum. This will cover 40% of first-time buyers, or an estimated 6,000 households annually.

3.31 $20,000 is a substantial sum. It is 20% of the selling price of a 3-room flat, purchased from HDB. It will be an even larger fraction of the price of a 2-room flat, which the Low Wage Workers Committee has recommended that HDB build for sale. The additional CPF Housing Grant will cost the Government $75 million a year.