There were about 200,000 qualified applications for an HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter from 2012 to 2015, revealed National Development Minister Lawrence Wong during a parliamentary session on Tuesday (1 March), reported Channel NewsAsia.
Flat buyers need to request for an HLE letter before they can obtain an HDB concessionary housing loan for their flat purchase.
Of this figure, 20 percent, or 40,000 of those who applied for the letter, appealed for a higher mortgage. Most did so to increase their housing options without stating an exact loan amount. Mr Wong was responding to a query from Non-Constituency MP Leon Perera.
“Over one in three of such appeals were successful,” he said in a written reply. The rest were not granted as the applicants could not prove that they have the resources to repay the larger loan.
“As a flat purchase is a long-term financial commitment, it would not be prudent for potential home buyers to take on additional financial burdens that they are unable to sustain,” he added.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
