The loan-to-value limit for HDB loans will be reduced from 80 per cent to 75 per cent. The tightening of loans did not come as a surprise as HDB resale prices have continued to increase, and more million-dollar flats have been transacted over the past year. On the other hand, EHG would be raised to help first-time buyers, especially from lower-income groups.
Impact of measures
The intention of the measures could be to manage the cash outlay by buyers, so as to slow down the rate of price increases temporarily and curb the million-dollar price tags of resale flats. This time around, instead of implementing a blanket measure that impacts all buyers, the measures seemed to be carefully calibrated such that those who need financial assistance such as the lower income groups and eligible first-time buyers will still be able to afford an HDB flat despite the reduced LTV since they will be receiving more help in the form of EHG. This is a good move as the measures will likely be more targeted.
The new measures are likely targeting middle-income or above-average buyers who can afford more expensive resale flats. With these measures, buyers will have to pay more cash for a resale flat. As a result, many buyers may become more cautious and reconsider whether they are willing to pay significantly more for a resale flat. This could potentially slow down the rate of price increases for HDB resale flats, especially the bigger flats or those in mature estates or prime locations. The number of million-dollar flat transactions, especially those that are just above a million dollars, could slow down temporarily.
However, at the upper end of the HDB resale market (possibly transactions above S$1.2 million), these buyers may not be significantly affected because they may not even qualify or be taking an HDB loan. Moreover, they may be able to afford the extra 5 per cent in cash even if are affected by the reduced LTV. Nonetheless, buyers in general have been reminded to be cautious, and we might observe a decrease in very high-priced million-dollar transactions in the near term.