Majority of HDB resale flats remain affordable for first-timers: Desmond Lee

High-priced flats still a small minority, and most of them are larger units, minister says

- Grace Leong

The majority of Housing Board resale flats remain within reach of Singaporeans, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said on Aug 6 as he addressed concerns about the affordability of public housing.

Mr Lee, who was responding to a question in Parliament by Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), pointed out that around eight in 10 first-timer families who collected keys to their resale flats in 2023 could service their monthly loan instalments with their Central Provident Fund savings, with minimal or no cash outlay.

High-priced transactions continue to make up a small minority of total resale transactions, Mr Lee said.

A third of these are maisonettes and jumbo flats, which are limited in supply and much larger than most other flats, he added.

More than 70 per cent of the remaining units are five-room flats that are situated in good locations, on a high floor or have a very long remaining lease, he said.

Meanwhile, four-room and smaller flats sold at the higher end of transacted prices make up just 0.5 per cent of all such flats sold in the past two years, he said.

More than half of these flats also have very attractive attributes, including being located in estates in or near the city centre, being on a high floor or having good views.

Mr Saktiandi had asked the minister whether the Government was looking into concerns about housing affordability after HDB resale price records were broken three times in the past three months.