Singapore’s first-time homebuyers in a bind as public housing prices close in on record levels
- With a pandemic-induced labour shortage adding years to the wait times for future builds, prospective homeowners are turning to the resale market
- But this means the HDB price index has risen for 14 straight months, and is now just shy of the record high set in April 2013
While it typically takes three or four attempts to secure a BTO flat, which requires a balloting process that is akin to a property lottery, Chan and his girlfriend have failed seven times.
Time is also no longer on their side – the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the completion of ongoing BTO projects and extended the waiting time for future builds. Some buyers are now facing a wait of four to five years for their homes to be ready, instead of the usual three to four years.
“Even if we were to get a successful ballot now, it’ll be already way too late,” said Chan, a senior consultant at a recruitment company. Facing the prospect of only moving into their first home in their mid-thirties, the couple, now both 29, turned to a backup plan: the HDB resale market. But even this approach is now posing a major financial headache.
