AFFORDABILITY PRIVATE PROPERTY FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Home purchase is one of the most important and costly financial decisions a household has to make. Recent fluctuations in property prices due to both internal and external shocks have significantly affected housing affordability, especially affordability of private property. This study examines affordability of private housing for first-time homebuyers belonging to the upper middle to high income earners from 1998-2004. A working definition of affordability that relates household income to mortgage payments, i.e. the debt service ratio is the measure adopted for comparisons. The findings revealed that affordability levels have been gradually improving for both groups since 2002 due to the falling property prices and low interest rate environment. However, the more stringent standard of DSR adopted by banks recently resulted in the deterioration of affordability for households in upper middle income bracket. Coupled with recent CPF changes to CPF withdrawal limit, this group faced additional constraint and faced more difficulty in achieving their aspirations of owning a private property.