Last year, 47 elderly homebuyers cancelled their new flat bookings because they were unable to raise the down payment, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in a blog post yesterday.
Typically, the sale proceeds for their existing flat would be enough to pay for the new flat, but they need to sell the flat first to raise the funds for the new purchase.
To ease this cash-flow problem, HDB announced buyers who downgrade to a two or three-room Build-To-Order (BTO) flat will only need to pay half the down payment when they sign the Agreement for Lease.
Additionally, they need only pay the other half together with the balance purchase price when they get the keys to their flat.
“I am glad that the HDB has made this change,” Mr Khaw wrote.
Image source: HDB
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
