The significant market discounts as well as the various housing grants have allowed close to 90 percent of families who are first-time home buyers to service their mortgages using CPF without any or little cash outlay.

In anticipation of its initiative, which will introduce a new classification for flats into Standard Plus and Premier models in the second half (2024), the board has said it will include additional subsidies on top of substantial market discounts provided to Standard apartments.

These flats include longer MOPs, tighter resale/rental conditions, and subsidy recoveries.

Housing and Development Board (HDB), a government agency, reported a Net Deficit of S$5.4Billion for the Financial Year 2022. This broke the previous record of S$4.4Billion set in FY2021.

Similar to the previous year, a large part of the deficit in this latest figure was due to an underfunding of the programme for public housing.

Under the HIP programme, 33 704 flats were renovated in FY2022. In FY2022, more than half of those who upgraded their flats through HIP also selected elderly-friendly equipment at subsidised rate under the Enhancement for Active Seniors scheme.

HDB spent another S$432,000,000 on residential functions, including lease administration and provision and maintenance of carparks in housing developments, as well as planning and building management.

This was partially due the spending on upgrading the electrical system in HDB properties, the board said.

Sceneca Residence

A wider gross profit of S$1.2B for sales completed has also been posted. This is nearly double from the S$659M loss reported the prior year.

HDB managed to sell 18,478 units during FY2022, after excluding the studio apartments, flats that were sold under short-term leases and those on sale for studio apartments. This is the highest sale figure in five years. In comparison, 13,506 units were sold in FY2022.

For FY2021, a lower amount of S$686million was disbursed as housing grants by the Central Provident Fund to eligible buyers for resale apartment and executive condominiums.

HDB noted that this was in line with a lower number of transactions for resale, at 27,900 in fiscal year 2022 as compared to 30,400 the previous years.

Home Ownership Programme: S$4.7 Billion spent on housing subsidies and grants, BTO flats development, and the Home Ownership Programme. This was an increase of 22 per cent compared to the S$3.9 Billion spent for the program in FY2021.

Housing is a cornerstone in our social compact. Singaporeans will continue to be supported by the government in their quest for home ownership.

HDB expects to make a loss of S$2.7bn for the flats it is developing in FY2022, as opposed to S$2.3bn last year. The amount collected by HDB from the sales of flats still remains lower than BTO development costs, housing grants and other expenditures.

The board also stated that it spent approximately S$141million to make provision for rental flats to qualified tenants under various housing schemes. This figure is an increase from S$121million during FY2021.

Spending on upgrading programmes increased by 40 percent from S$392 millions in FY2021. The rise in spending for such programmes can primarily be attributed to the Home Improvement Programme’s (HIP) construction activities, which have increased since the Covid-19 measures were eased.

HDB confirmed that the company is still on track for launching up to 23000 flats in 2023.

It will continue closely monitoring the housing demands and make necessary changes in order to meet its target of launching 100 000 flats between 2021-2025.