From 24 August 2026, a family can earn up to S$16,000 a month and still apply for a new HDB flat, up from S$14,000. The income line for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, the biggest single grant, stayed at S$9,000.
What moved on 24 August 2026
| Household | Ceiling before | Ceiling from 24 August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Families | S$14,000 | S$16,000 |
| Singles aged 35 and above | S$7,000 | S$8,000 |
| Executive condominiums, sites tendered from 24 August 2026 | S$16,000 | S$18,000 |
The higher ceiling applies to a new HDB flat, to a resale flat bought with a CPF Housing Grant, and to an HDB housing loan. Extended families have a ceiling of S$24,000. The higher executive condominium ceiling covers only sites tendered from 24 August 2026, not balance units in existing ECs.
What did not move
The Enhanced CPF Housing Grant is worth up to S$120,000 to a family buying a resale flat, and its income ceiling stayed at S$9,000 for families and S$4,500 for singles.
The CPF Housing Grant works on the wider ceiling. A citizen couple buying a resale flat receives S$80,000 for a flat of up to four rooms and S$50,000 for a five-room flat or larger. Households earning between S$14,000 and S$16,000 are inside that ceiling now. The S$230,000 that a first-timer family can receive at most is out of reach above the S$9,000 line, because it includes the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant.
What the ceiling does not decide
A ceiling decides whether a household may apply. What it may borrow is a separate limit: the HDB housing loan follows the mortgage servicing ratio, 30% of gross monthly income, which is S$4,800 a month at S$16,000. The ceiling opens the door, and the loan and the budget decide what is behind it.
A household at S$15,000
Take a family earning S$15,000 a month. Before 24 August 2026 it was over the ceiling for a new flat or an HDB loan. It is now inside it. It is also outside the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, and 30% of its income is S$4,500 a month, which is the most the HDB loan rules let it commit to the mortgage. That is what the change gives such a family: the right to apply, and an HDB loan sized by its income.
Next in line: February 2027
From the February 2027 sales launch, first-timer families with or expecting children receive one additional ballot chance for each Singapore Citizen child aged 18 and below, in BTO and SBF applications. The announcement was made at the same time as the new ceilings.
What to check
- Which ceiling applies to the route you are taking. A new flat, a resale flat with a grant, an HDB loan and an executive condominium are separate ceilings, and the executive condominium one depends on when the site was tendered.
- Which income counts. HDB assesses household income over a window before the application, which matters for a household near a ceiling.
- The full table. The HDB rules guide sets out every ceiling, grant and loan rule as it stands after the change.
