HDB Grants for First-Time Buyers: A Plain-English Guide

For most first-time buyers, government housing grants are the difference between a flat being out of reach and comfortably affordable. Singapore’s CPF housing grants can add a substantial sum to your budget — but which ones you get depends on whether you buy new or resale, your household income, and your citizenship. This is the plain-English version.

The main grants, and what they reward

• Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG). The largest grant for eligible first-timers, scaled to household income — lower income, larger grant. Available for both new and resale flats, subject to an income ceiling and at least one buyer having worked continuously for a qualifying period.
• CPF Housing Grant / Family Grant (resale only). For first-timer families buying a resale flat, with the amount depending on flat size and household type.
• Proximity Housing Grant (PHG). Rewards buying a resale flat to live with or near family (within a set distance), encouraging support networks across generations. Available to families and singles.

These can stack: a first-timer family buying resale near their parents might receive EHG plus the Family Grant plus PHG together, which is why resale near family can be surprisingly affordable once grants are counted.

Who counts as a “first-timer”

Broadly, you are a first-timer if you have not previously received a housing subsidy — that status is what unlocks the largest grants and priority in new-flat ballots. It is worth protecting: taking a subsidy makes you a “second-timer” for future purchases.

Two things buyers routinely get wrong

First, grants go into your CPF, not your bank account — they lower how much you finance, not your cash on hand at the counter. Second, income is assessed on the average of the qualifying period, so a recent pay rise may not push you over a ceiling. Because ceilings and amounts are revised periodically, always confirm the current figures on hdb.gov.sg before you budget.

Grants decide your budget; this site helps you spend it well. Once you know your number, screen blocks with the screening framework and shortlist towns on the estate rankings.

Figures on this page are computed from the current snapshot and update each rebuild. Contains information from data.gov.sg (Singapore Open Data Licence) and OneMap, Singapore Land Authority. This is general information for research, not financial or professional advice.