# Higher income ceiling for executive condos could boost buyer demand, developer confidence

- **Source:** The Business Times
- **Published:** 2026-08-24T09:26:32.000Z
- **Author:** Chong Xin Wei
- **Original:** https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/higher-income-ceiling-executive-condos-could-boost-buyer-demand-developer-confidence
- **Topics:** HDB & Public Housing, Private Residential, Commercial & Industrial

## Featured rationale

The wider eligibility pool and potentially higher loan amounts could support EC demand and developer confidence, although affordability constraints and recent restrictions may temper sales growth.

## AI summary

Singapore will raise the monthly household income ceiling for new executive condominiums from S$16,000 to S$18,000 for applicable land tenders closing from Aug 24.

## Original article

[SINGAPORE] A higher income ceiling for executive condominiums (ECs) could lift demand for future projects as it widens the pool of eligible buyers, and support developer confidence in upcoming land tenders.

In particular, raising the threshold for eligibility to buy new ECs will give EC buyers access to more financing, due to a lending limit tied to monthly income for this housing segment.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Sunday (Aug 23) that the monthly household income ceiling for ECs will be raised from S$16,000 to S$18,000.

The raised ceiling will apply to projects on sites where land tenders close on or after Aug 24.

The EC income ceiling was raised along with the income ceiling for Build-To-Order (BTO) Housing and Development Board flats, which went up to S$16,000.

The new EC income ceiling will apply to projects on upcoming EC sites in Canberra Drive and Admiralty Walk, the tenders for which close on Oct 1 and Dec 17, respectively; it will also apply to a Jurong East site slated for launch by year-end.

Together, the three plots could yield about 1,370 units in total.

Kelvin Fong, PropNex’s chief executive officer, said that the revised threshold would enable more households – especially those where incomes have risen in recent years – to qualify for new ECs and potentially secure higher loan amounts.

PropNex estimates that the maximum bank loan an EC buyer at the previous S$16,000 income ceiling could have secured was around S$1 million, assuming a mortgage servicing ratio (MSR) of 30 per cent, a medium-term interest rate floor at 4 per cent per annum and a 30-year loan tenure.

Against the median price of S$1.83 million for new EC units sold in 2026 as at Aug 15, a further S$366,750 would need to be funded through cash and/or Central Provident Fund savings, on top of the 25 per cent down payment and booking fee.

At the new S$18,000 ceiling, the maximum loan could rise to about S$1.13 million, cutting the additional cash/CPF required to S$240,750, said Fong. He cautioned however that larger loans would also mean higher monthly repayments and debt obligations.

Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group, does not expect a major impact on the market, given recent policy changes announced in May aimed at reining in soaring EC prices and tempering land bids.

In May, the minimum occupation period for the hybrid housing type was extended to 10 years, and a deferred payment scheme for new EC projects was removed. In addition, new EC projects now have to reserve 90 per cent of units for first-time buyers in the first two years of the launch of the project.

While developers may have taken a more measured view of demand after the measures were announced, SRI head of research and data analytics Mohan Sandrasegeran said that the higher income ceiling “may help support developer confidence and participation in upcoming EC land tenders, particularly for well-located sites where ECs continue to offer a meaningful affordability proposition relative to new private condominiums”.

Still, a larger pool of eligible buyers may not necessarily translate into stronger sales, Fong said, noting that this would depend on developers keeping the overall price quantum within buyers’ purchasing power.

The Canberra Drive site will be the first EC site to be tested against both the higher income ceiling and the policy changes announced in May.

Huttons Asia’s senior director of data analytics Lee Sze Teck expects the site to attract up to five bidders, and for the bids to range between S$630 and S$700 per square foot per plot ratio.

Data from the Department of Statistics Singapore (Singstat) indicates that the average monthly household employment income (excluding employer CPF contributions) among resident employed households rose 22 per cent from S$11,250 in 2019 to S$13,752 in 2025.

The median monthly household employment income (excluding employer CPF contributions) went up by 27 per cent over the same period to S$10,591 in 2025.

An income ceiling of S$16,000 would cover resident employed households up to just under the 70th percentile. When the ceiling was last raised to S$14,000 in 2019, it covered households up to slightly above the 70th percentile, Fong pointed out.

The higher income ceiling could spur demand for larger, pricier and well-located BTO flats, with some higher-income households previously excluded from the primary market becoming eligible.

Still, Fong does not expect the change to divert much demand from the resale market. “BTO and resale buyers typically have different priorities, with resale flats appealing to those who need move-in ready homes or a preference for specific locations. The resale market serves a wider pool of buyers, including singles seeking a larger flat and permanent residents, which should continue to underpin resale demand.”

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: openai_codex_cli

### 执行共管公寓收入顶限上调或提振买家需求与发展商信心

EC收入顶限将上调至18,000新元，HDB BTO组屋收入顶限将上调至16,000新元

[新加坡] 执行共管公寓（EC）的收入顶限上调，可能扩大合资格买家群体，从而提升未来项目需求，并支持发展商对即将推出土地招标的信心。

尤其是，上调购买新EC的资格门槛，将让EC买家获得更多融资，因为这一住房类别的贷款限额与月收入挂钩。

总理黄循财周日（8月23日）宣布，EC的家庭月收入顶限将从16,000新元上调至18,000新元。

上调后的顶限将适用于土地招标在8月24日或之后截止的地块项目。

EC收入顶限与建屋发展局预购组屋（BTO）收入顶限一并上调，后者上调至16,000新元。

新的EC收入顶限将适用于即将推出的Canberra Drive和Admiralty Walk EC地块项目，这两个地块的招标分别于10月1日和12月17日截止；该顶限也将适用于计划在年底前推出的一个裕廊东地块。

三幅地块合计可提供约1,370个单位。

PropNex首席执行官Kelvin Fong表示，修订后的门槛将让更多家庭，尤其是近年收入上升的家庭，符合购买新EC的资格，并可能获得更高贷款额。

PropNex估算，在此前16,000新元收入顶限下，假设按揭偿还比率（MSR）为30%、中期利率下限为年利率4%、贷款期限为30年，EC买家可获得的最高银行贷款约为100万新元。

以截至8月15日2026年售出的新EC单位中位价183万新元计算，在25%首付款和订购费之外，还需通过现金和/或公积金储蓄支付额外366,750新元。

Fong表示，在新的18,000新元顶限下，最高贷款额可能升至约113万新元，使所需额外现金/公积金降至240,750新元。不过他提醒，较高贷款也意味着更高的每月还款和债务负担。

Realion（OrangeTee & ETC）Group首席研究员兼策略师Christine Sun预计，对市场不会产生重大影响，原因是5月宣布的近期政策调整旨在遏制EC价格飙升并压低土地竞标。

5月，这类混合型住房的最低居住年限被延长至10年，新EC项目的递延付款计划也被取消。此外，新的EC项目现在必须在项目推出首两年内，将90%的单位预留给首次购房者。

SRI研究与数据分析主管Mohan Sandrasegeran表示，尽管发展商在相关措施公布后可能已对需求采取更审慎看法，但较高收入顶限“可能有助于支持发展商对即将举行的EC土地招标的信心和参与度，特别是对于位置优越的地块，因为相较于新的私人公寓，EC仍继续提供有意义的可负担性优势”。

不过，Fong表示，更大的合资格买家群体不一定转化为更强劲销售，并指出这将取决于发展商是否把整体价格总额维持在买家的购买能力范围内。

Canberra Drive地块将是首个同时接受较高收入顶限和5月宣布政策调整考验的EC地块。

Huttons Asia数据分析高级董事Lee Sze Teck预计，该地块将吸引最多五名竞标者，投标价格将在每平方英尺每地积比630新元至700新元之间。

新加坡统计局（Singstat）数据显示，居民就业家庭的平均每月家庭就业收入（不包括雇主公积金缴款）从2019年的11,250新元上升22%，至2025年的13,752新元。

同期，家庭就业收入中位数（不包括雇主公积金缴款）上升27%，至2025年的10,591新元。

Fong指出，16,000新元的收入顶限将覆盖至略低于第70百分位的居民就业家庭。当收入顶限上一次在2019年上调至14,000新元时，其覆盖范围略高于第70百分位。

较高收入顶限可能刺激对面积更大、价格更高且位置优越的BTO组屋的需求，一些此前被排除在一手市场之外的较高收入家庭将变得符合资格。

不过，Fong不认为这一变化会从转售市场分流大量需求。“BTO和转售买家通常有不同优先考量，转售组屋吸引的是需要可即时入住住房或偏好特定地点的买家。转售市场服务更广泛的买家群体，包括寻求更大组屋的单身人士和永久居民，这应会继续支撑转售需求。”