The response to the new Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) has been most encouraging, revealed National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.
Writing on his blog, Wong revealed that more than one in five of the 3,506 HDB resale flat buyers have applied for the grant since it was introduced on 24 August.
He noted that the PHG was deliberately extended to all Singaporean families looking to acquire a resale flat with or near their parents or married children.
“So there’s no household income ceiling. Even those who had enjoyed housing subsidies or owned private property before can qualify for the grant,” he said.
Under previous rules, close to 50 percent of families and around nine in 10 singles who applied for the PHG would not have been eligible for any grant.
“We did this because we recognise that the desire to live closer to parents and children is shared by a wide spectrum of Singaporean households, and not just first-timer couples.”
Meanwhile, many home buyers have also benefited from the raised income ceilings, noted Wong.
Around one in 10 first-timer families and singles are now eligible for the CPF Housing Grant due to the higher income ceilings of $12,000 and $6,000 respectively.
Almost one in three buyers of new executive condominium units are benefitting from the revised $14,000 income ceiling.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
