While the Housing and Development Board (HDB) continues to refine its policies to support first-time homebuyers, significant changes to income assessment rules for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will take effect from the July 2025 sales exercise, particularly expanding the Deferred Income Assessment (DIA) scheme to accommodate young couples with evolving financial situations.
This expansion enables couples where one partner is working and the other is studying or serving National Service to qualify for larger flats, with income assessment deferred until key collection, provided at least one partner is 30 years old or younger. The revised policy is a significant improvement over the previous requirement that both partners be full-time students or NS personnel.
The current income ceiling for families stands at $14,000 monthly, covering approximately 80% of Singaporean households, while Executive Condominiums maintain a higher threshold of $16,000. Government authorities continue to monitor income growth and market conditions, suggesting potential adjustments to these ceilings in future policy reviews.
Income ceilings currently accommodate most Singaporean families, with potential future adjustments based on economic trends.
Complementing the DIA expansion, the Staggered Down Payment Scheme reduces initial payment requirements from 5% to 2.5% of the flat price for eligible applicants who have completed their studies or National Service within 12 months of application, encompassing university, polytechnic, and ITE graduates. Many couples like Ryan Tan and Brina Lim have benefited from these financial assistance schemes when purchasing their four-room flat in Yishun Grove.
To address housing supply concerns, HDB plans to launch over 50,000 flats between 2025 and 2027, with at least 12,000 units featuring shorter waiting times.
The median waiting period for BTO flats has decreased to under four years, with 19,600 new units planned for 2025 and more than 5,500 Sale of Balance Flats across 60% of towns and estates.
Affordability measures include increased market subsidies, Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $120,000 for first-timers, and a new flat classification system comprising Standard, Plus, and Prime categories. Eligible buyers can maximize benefits by combining multiple grants up to a maximum of $230,000, depending on their specific circumstances.
The latter two categories offer additional subsidies but impose tighter restrictions, including a 10-year Minimum Occupation Period and subsidy clawback upon sale.
First-time family application rates have stabilized below pre-pandemic levels, decreasing from 3.7 in 2019 to 1.5 in 2025, reflecting the impact of increased supply in both public and private housing sectors.
