Despite onerous restrictions, buying a PLH flat can pay off

BUYING a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat from the Housing Development Board (HDB) is often a no-brainer for young couples starting on their home-ownership journey. In the November BTO exercise, 4-room flats at Hougang Olive were priced at S$308,000-S$377,000. This represents a discount of about 33 per cent to transacted prices of resale flats nearby of S$460,000-S$560,000, which range from about 7-25 years old.

Buyers of BTO flats enjoy subsidised prices. In addition, some eligible buyers can receive CPF Housing Grants of up to S$80,000.

Those eligible to buy a 4-room BTO flat include couples, where one applicant is a citizen and the other is either a citizen or a permanent resident (PR), whose gross average monthly household income does not exceed S$14,000.