Minimum occupation period for executive condos doubled; first-timer quota, priority expanded
Developers can also no longer offer the Deferred Payment Scheme for executive condominiums as part of measures to help first-time home buyers get a unit amid rising prices.
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SINGAPORE: The minimum occupation period (MOP) for executive condominiums (ECs) will be raised from five years to 10 years as part of efforts to help first-time home buyers secure a unit, the Ministry of National Development (MND) announced on Friday (May 8).
Buyers of new ECs will need to fulfil the MOP before they can rent out their whole unit, purchase another residential property or sell their unit to Singaporeans and permanent residents.
New ECs will also become fully privatised after 15 years, up from the current 10 years. This means that after the 15th year, EC homeowners can sell their unit to any buyer, including foreigners and corporate entities.
The quota and priority period for first-time home buyers will also be increased.
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Currently, developers must reserve 70 per cent of EC units for first-timer families during the first month from the project’s launch date.
This quota will be increased to 90 per cent, and the priority period will be extended to two years.
After the two-year period, developers can sell the remaining units to all eligible buyers, including second-time buyers.
“This will provide greater support for young married couples and families looking to buy their first home,” said MND.
The ministry also announced that developers will no longer be able to offer a Deferred Payment Scheme (DPS), which allows buyers to pay 20 per cent of the purchase price upfront and the remaining 80 per cent when the project obtains its Temporary Occupation Permit.
Buyers who opt for this scheme generally incur a 2 to 3 per cent premium over the EC unit purchase price.
All EC buyers will have to use the Normal Payment Scheme, where buyers make progressive payments based on construction milestones.
These new measures will apply to all EC Government Land Sales (GLS) sites with tender closing dates on or after Friday.
Speaking at the National University of Singapore IREUS Urban Housing Symposium, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said the changes to the EC scheme will further support first-time home buyers and focus ECs on meeting occupation needs for homeowners.
He noted that the proportion of first-time EC buyers has decreased, relative to second-timers who have larger housing budgets from the sale proceeds of their first home.
In 2020, about half of EC buyers were first-timers. This dropped to between 30 and 40 per cent in 2024 and 2025.
From 2021 to 2025, among ECs that were transacted on the open market, about 75 per cent were sold within five years after their MOP, up from 45 per cent over the preceding five-year period.
Mr Chee said: "We also hope this will result in developers reducing their bids and the prices for their ECs."
SURGING PRICES
During the debate on his ministry’s budget in March, Mr Chee announced that the executive condominium policy would be reviewed, following concerns about affordability.
Prices per sq ft have more than doubled over the past decade.
From January to April this year, the median price per sq ft (PSF) of new ECs was S$1,843 (US$1,455), compared with S$782 in 2016, according to data from PropNex Research and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Taking the median price of S$1,843 psf, a new EC unit that is 1,000 sq ft – the size of an average four-room unit – would cost nearly S$1.85 million.
The latest EC launch, Rivelle Tampines, sold over 92 per cent of its 572 units on launch day on Mar 21, at an average price of S$1,893 psf.
The 30 per cent quota allocated for second-timers was fully taken up by 2.15pm that day, the developer Sim Lian Group said in a press release.
In January, Coastal Cabana in Pasir Ris sold about 67 per cent of its 748 units during its launch weekend, at an average price of S$1,734 psf.
Five upcoming ECs will not be subject to the new measures.
They are the projects at Senja Close, Sembawang Road, Miltonia Close and two projects at Woodlands Drive 17. The tender for all five locations closed between August 2025 and April 2026.
ECs were introduced in 1995 to provide an option for higher-income Singaporeans who aspire to own private housing. They are developed and sold by private developers, with design features and facilities similar to private condominiums.
They are priced by developers at about 20 to 30 per cent lower than comparable private condominiums due to initial eligibility and ownership restrictions, such as the income ceiling. Eligible buyers can take a CPF Housing Grant of up to S$30,000.
In September 2019, the household income ceiling for ECs was raised from S$14,000 to S$16,000.
In 2013, the government implemented three measures for EC developments, including reducing cancellation fees, requiring second-timer applicants to pay a resale levy and revising mortgage loan terms.
Professor Sing Tien Foo, the Provost's Chair Professor at the NUS Department of Real Estate, said that the new EC measures will affect second-timers more.
By curbing second-timers, first-time buyers will have a better chance of successfully applying for ECs that fall within their financial means, he added.
"The extension of the MOP by five years will also impose restrictions on resale, which may help moderate and curb potential speculative activity that could drive up EC prices and ensure EC remains affordable to first-time families," said Prof Sing.
"The new rules will help stabilise the EC markets over the next three to five years, and we are unlikely to see a sharp rise in EC prices if economic and income growth remain stable," he said.
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