Helping your children buy that private property now may not help them in future

DESPITE financial help such as the baby bonus, raising children in Singapore can be costly. Expenditure items may include a myriad of enrichment classes and fancy overseas holidays. Spending on further studies abroad adds to costs.

Still, some affluent parents are able and willing to splurge on their offspring, including providing financial help in buying a home. 

Parental help fuels liquidity in the private housing and Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale markets. However, such actions could worsen inequality. Some young people may lament the unfairness of peers who get a leg-up in the homeownership journey due to parental help.