SINGAPORE - National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said Thursday morning that his ministry is working out details on relaxing Central Provident Fund loan rules on the purchase of older Housing Board resale flats, and will announce them soon for implementation in May this year.
Some banks also take reference from these restrictions when assessing how much loan to extend. As a result, both CPF and loan quantums are reduced for the purchase of such older flats, he said. "And there's no good reason why this should be so just because the flat became a year older," Mr Wong pointed out."In fact, the focus should not be on the remaining lease of the flat. What we want to ensure is that buyers purchase flats with leases that are long enough to last them for life.
Mr Wong had said in August last year that his ministry is looking into how to let buyers of shorter-lease flats dip deeper into CPF funds for their purchase, without compromising their retirement savings.