# NDR 2026: Income ceilings for BTO flats, executive condos raised; first-time buyers to get extra ballot per child

- **Source:** Channel NewsAsia
- **Published:** 2026-08-23T12:47:00.000Z
- **Author:** Fabian Koh
- **Original:** https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/national-day-rally-2026-income-ceiling-bto-flats-ec-singles-ballot-families-6335846
- **Topics:** HDB & Public Housing, Private Residential, Government & Policy

## Featured rationale

The measures widen subsidised-housing access for higher-earning households and prioritise growing families, potentially increasing competition for BTO flats while helping families secure homes sooner.

## AI summary

Singapore raised BTO and EC income ceilings to S$16,000 and S$18,000 respectively, while first-timer families will receive one additional ballot chance per child from February 2027.

## Original article

SINGAPORE: The income ceilings for buying new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats will be raised to ensure that the vast majority of Singaporeans can continue to access subsidised public housing, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday (Aug 23). Starting February next year, there will also be an additional ballot chance per Singaporean child for first-timer families with or expecting children, Mr Wong said in the National Day Rally . For Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, the ceiling will rise from S$14,000 (US$11,000) to S$16,000. For executive condominiums (ECs), the income ceiling will go up from S$16,000 to S$18,000.

“Over the years, we have steadily increased housing supply. Today we see encouraging results. Success rates for booking BTO flats are higher, waiting times are shorter. And the resale market has stabilised. These improvements give us confidence to do more,” said Mr Wong. Mr Wong noted that Singaporeans are marrying later these days, with many further along in their careers and earning more by the time they settle down, leading to many young couples crossing the current income ceilings. The changes are among the measures to keep public housing and ECs affordable and accessible for Singaporeans and to provide greater support for families with children, as part of broader efforts to encourage marriage and parenthood, the Ministry of National Development (MND) and HDB said in a joint press release on Sunday. The revised ceiling will kick in for eligible families who apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter from Monday. This lets them buy a new subsidised HDB flat, a resale HDB flat on the open market with the CPF Housing Grant, or get an HDB housing loan. Correspondingly, the income ceiling for eligible single HDB home buyers aged 35 and above, will also be raised from S$7,000 to S$8,000. The revised ceiling for ECs will apply to new units in projects with land sale tender closing dates on or after Aug 24, and will not apply to balance units in existing ECs or new units in ECs with land sale tenders awarded before that, said MND and HDB.

The changes will also benefit families applying for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme, with the monthly household income ceiling raised from S$7,000 to S$8,000. Eligible second-timer families will also see their ceiling for the Fresh Start Housing Scheme and the Step-Up CPF Housing Grant increase by the same amount. For eligible seniors, the ceiling for the Lease Buyback Scheme, Silver Housing Bonus and the purchase of a Community Care Apartment or two-room flexi flat on short lease, have also been raised from S$14,000 to S$16,000. To give potential flat buyers sufficient time to review their housing plans and apply for an HFE letter under the revised ceilings, the next Build-to-Order (BTO) sales exercise will be held in November this year, instead of October. “We would like to encourage all flat buyers who wish to participate in the BTO sales exercise to apply for an HFE letter early and submit all required documents by Sep 25, 2026,” MND and HDB said. In November’s exercise, about 7,960 flats in Bedok, Geylang, Sembawang, Tengah, Toa Payoh and Yishun will be launched, along with community care apartments in Toa Payoh. More details on the projects, including their classification, will be shared during the launch.

“The income ceiling ensures that the limited supply of new subsidised HDB flats, which are priced with significant market discounts, and housing grants are prioritised for lower to upper-middle income families,” said MND and HDB. They said the income ceilings are reviewed periodically to ensure that they keep pace with income growth. Since they were last adjusted in 2019, incomes have risen, leading to more aspiring buyers exceeding the ceilings, said HDB and MND. The median monthly household income in Singapore rose to S$12,446 last year, up from S$11,558 the year before, an increase of 6.8 per cent after adjusting for inflation. After accounting for household size, the median monthly household income per household member rose by 7.5 per cent in real terms, from S$3,837 in 2024 to S$4,160 last year.

MORE BALLOT CHANCES PER CHILD Another change announced on Sunday was for first-timer families with or expecting children to get additional ballot chances from February next year. This move will “significantly improve” their chances of getting a flat, said Mr Wong. “Today we already give priority to couples who are engaged as well as married couples. But once you have children, I believe you should receive even greater priority,” said Mr Wong. “So the more children you have, the more ballot chances you will receive – because we want to help growing families secure a home sooner.”

HDB and MND said first-timer families will receive one additional ballot chance for each Singaporean child aged 18 and below, for all BTO and SBF flat applications. First-timer families refer to those where no member has previously received any government housing subsidy or owned a subsidised flat. Currently, they are given greater priority in the ballot in BTO and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises. They receive two ballot chances, compared to one for second-timers. First-timer families who have been unsuccessful in two or more BTO applications for Standard flats receive an additional ballot chance for each subsequent BTO application for a Standard flat, capped at four ballot chances in total. Those eligible under the First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples), or FT(PMC), category receive three ballot chances. They are also prioritised under the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme when applying for a four-room or smaller BTO flat in Standard projects. Those who have been unsuccessful in two or more BTO applications for Standard flats will receive an additional ballot chance for each subsequent BTO application for a Standard flat, capped at five ballot chances in total. The FT(PMC) category includes married couples aged 40 and below, and families with at least one Singaporean child aged 18 and below, including married couples who are expecting and have a doctor’s certification of the pregnancy. They must also never have owned or sold a residential property before, nor had a chance to book a BTO or SBF flat in the past five years prior to their application. Mr Wong also said that larger families would automatically receive more financial support under the new approach. This includes an additional MediSave top-up and more help with transport needs. “Larger families often want bigger homes, which cost more. So I have asked Chee Hong Tat to consider additional housing support for larger families,” he added.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: openai_codex_cli

### NDR 2026：BTO组屋、执行共管公寓收入顶限提高；首次购屋者每名子女可获额外抽签机会

为让潜在购屋者有足够时间按修订后的顶限检视住房计划，下一轮预购组屋（BTO）销售活动将从10月移至11月。

新加坡：总理黄循财周日（8月23日）表示，购买新建屋发展局（HDB）组屋的收入顶限将提高，以确保绝大多数新加坡人能够继续获得受津贴公共住房。黄循财在国庆群众大会上表示，从明年2月起，有子女或正在孕育子女的首次购屋家庭，每有一名新加坡籍子女也将获得一次额外抽签机会。预购组屋（BTO）的顶限将从14,000新元（11,000美元）提高至16,000新元。执行共管公寓（EC）的收入顶限将从16,000新元提高至18,000新元。

“这些年来，我们稳步增加住房供应。今天我们看到令人鼓舞的成果。BTO组屋预订成功率更高，等候时间更短。转售市场也已稳定。这些改善让我们有信心做得更多，”黄循财说。黄循财指出，新加坡人如今结婚较晚，许多人在安定下来时事业发展已更进一步，收入也更高，导致许多年轻夫妇超过现行收入顶限。国家发展部（MND）和HDB周日在联合新闻稿中表示，这些调整是相关措施的一部分，旨在保持公共住房和EC对新加坡人的可负担性和可获得性，并为有子女家庭提供更大支持，作为鼓励婚姻和育儿的更广泛努力的一环。修订后的顶限将从周一起适用于申请HDB Flat Eligibility（HFE）信件的符合资格家庭。这使他们能够购买新的受津贴HDB组屋、在公开市场购买带有CPF Housing Grant的HDB转售组屋，或获得HDB住房贷款。相应地，年龄35岁及以上、符合资格的单身HDB购屋者收入顶限也将从7,000新元提高至8,000新元。MND和HDB表示，EC修订后的顶限将适用于土地出售招标截止日期在8月24日或之后的项目新单位，不适用于现有EC的剩余单位，也不适用于此前已批出土地出售招标的EC新单位。

这些调整也将惠及申请Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme的家庭，每月家庭收入顶限从7,000新元提高至8,000新元。符合资格的第二次购屋家庭，其Fresh Start Housing Scheme和Step-Up CPF Housing Grant的顶限也将提高相同金额。对于符合资格的年长者，Lease Buyback Scheme、Silver Housing Bonus，以及购买Community Care Apartment或短租契二房式灵活组屋的顶限，也已从14,000新元提高至16,000新元。为让潜在购屋者有足够时间检视住房计划，并按修订后的顶限申请HFE信件，下一轮预购组屋（BTO）销售活动将于今年11月举行，而非10月。“我们鼓励所有希望参与BTO销售活动的购屋者尽早申请HFE信件，并在2026年9月25日前提交所有所需文件，”MND和HDB表示。在11月的销售活动中，约7,960套位于勿洛、芽笼、三巴旺、登加、大巴窑和义顺的组屋将推出，同时大巴窑也会推出Community Care Apartments。项目更多详情，包括其分类，将在推出时公布。

“收入顶限确保供应有限、以显著市场折扣定价的新受津贴HDB组屋，以及住房津贴，优先分配给较低收入至中高收入家庭，”MND和HDB表示。他们说，收入顶限会定期检讨，以确保其跟上收入增长。HDB和MND表示，自2019年上次调整以来，收入已有所上升，导致更多有意购屋者超过顶限。新加坡每月家庭收入中位数去年升至12,446新元，高于前一年的11,558新元，经通胀调整后增加6.8%。按家庭规模计算后，每名家庭成员每月家庭收入中位数按实质计算上升7.5%，从2024年的3,837新元升至去年的4,160新元。

每名子女更多抽签机会 周日宣布的另一项调整，是从明年2月起，有子女或正在孕育子女的首次购屋家庭将获得额外抽签机会。黄循财表示，此举将“显著提高”他们获得组屋的机会。“今天我们已经给予订婚夫妇以及已婚夫妇优先权。但一旦你有了孩子，我认为你应获得更高优先权，”黄循财说。“所以你的孩子越多，你获得的抽签机会就越多，因为我们希望帮助正在壮大的家庭更早获得住房。”

HDB和MND表示，首次购屋家庭每有一名18岁及以下的新加坡籍子女，在所有BTO和SBF组屋申请中，将获得一次额外抽签机会。首次购屋家庭指没有任何成员曾获得任何政府住房津贴或拥有过受津贴组屋的家庭。目前，他们在BTO和剩余组屋销售（SBF）活动抽签中享有更高优先权。他们获得两次抽签机会，而第二次购屋者为一次。对Standard组屋两次或更多次BTO申请未成功的首次购屋家庭，其之后每次申请Standard组屋都将获得一次额外抽签机会，总抽签机会以四次为上限。符合首次购屋者（父母及已婚夫妇），即FT(PMC)类别资格者，获得三次抽签机会。他们在申请Standard项目的四房式或更小BTO组屋时，也在家庭与育儿优先计划下获得优先。对Standard组屋两次或更多次BTO申请未成功者，其之后每次申请Standard组屋都将获得一次额外抽签机会，总抽签机会以五次为上限。FT(PMC)类别包括40岁及以下的已婚夫妇，以及有至少一名18岁及以下新加坡籍子女的家庭，包括正在孕育子女并持有医生怀孕证明的已婚夫妇。他们也必须从未拥有或出售过住宅物业，且在申请前过去五年内没有机会预订BTO或SBF组屋。黄循财还表示，在新做法下，大家庭将自动获得更多财务支持。这包括额外MediSave充值和更多交通需求方面的帮助。“大家庭通常想要更大的住房，而这成本更高。因此，我已请徐芳达考虑为大家庭提供额外住房支持，”他补充说。