In the BTO launch exercise announced by HDB yesterday, some 2-room HDB units in non-mature estates have been set aside for singles who were 35 years old and above.
While singles can start cheering the move, the chances of getting a unit can be actually quite low. While a total of 519 new 2-room flats in Seng Kang and Yishun are available in this BTO exercise, a limit of 30% of these units will be for singles. That works out to be around 173 units.
However, a significant change is that the monthly household income ceiling for families for 2-room flats in non-mature estates will be increased from $2,000 to $5,000. This is also the income ceiling for singles who are applying. This might very well pull some potential condominium shoebox buyers to HDB instead.
The Government will also extend the Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) and the Special CPF Housing Grant (SHG) to eligible singles buying BTO flats.
The full announcement by HDB also includes some other rules refinement affecting married couples and can be found here:
Meeting Diverse Housing Needs – 4,079 New Flats for Families and Singles