The Housing Development Board (HDB) makes the effort of putting up comparable resale prices in the brochures of all Build to Order (BTO) launches for buyers to get a better sense of the price differences, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee.
“If you look at the BTO range of prices, we make the effort to put the comparable sale price next to it. That is a sense of the whole range broadly — the whole range of market support, subsidies that are given to Singaporeans,” he said in response to Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh’s query about the subsidies for BTO flats on Jan 10, 2023.
It’s evident that the transacted prices of resale flats around each BTO project is clearly stated.
In fact, homebuyers can also log on to the HDB Flat Portal on more details on the comparable resale flats if they so wish.
Subsidies for BTO flats? It’s all there.
A number of factors
Over the years, the PAP Government also introduced various grant types for homebuyers. For instance, the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, CPF Housing Grant and Proximity Housing Grant. All in, homebuyers can receive up to S$160,000 in housing grants.
Of course, the hallmark of the PAP Government is its attention on fairness and inclusivity — this means that those with less will receive more.
“We have to bear in mind that based on each family circumstances, additional grants may or may not be available. And so it will vary, not just project by project, but also on who buys them,” explained Minister Lee.
Besides grants, other factors such as attributes of new flats across BTO projects (down to the level, facing of the units) and market conditions will also determine the level of subsidies.
Say if the resale prices move up, HDB will then increase subsidies in order to ensure affordability of BTO units.
“Look at the average BTO prices. They’ve remained relatively stable, of course, adjusting for different locations. And that must mean that you have to adjust the subsidies, even for projects launched in succession in an area in order to ensure their stability,” said Minister Lee.
Transparency
Further underlining the importance of transparency, the minister pointed out that HDB also published the cost of construction for each project.
In addition, HDB also released a statement last year on the pricing approach and development costs for BTO flats.
And the overall amount of money that the Government uses to fund home ownership is public information, said the National Development Minister.
Indeed, pricing information and the different types of grants are readily available in the every new launch’s brochure, allowing homebuyers a sense of the prices on both the resale market and BTO launch.
