Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on HDB loan appeals
Mar 1, 2016
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development:
a) How many appeals for a higher HDB loan quantum have been made from 2010 to 2015;
b) What is the median loan quantum that applicants appealed for;
c) What has been the success rate of such appeals; and
d) What is the breakdown of reasons for cases where the appeal has been rejected.
Answer:
HDB approved over 200,000 applications for an HDB Loan Eligibility letter between 2012 and 2015. Of these, about 1 in 5 (or 40,000) appealed for a larger housing loan. Generally, appellants asked for a larger loan to widen their flat choices, without specifying a loan quantum.
Over 1 in 3 of such appeals were successful. HDB was unable to accede to the rest of the appeals as the applicants were unable to provide evidence of their ability to service the larger loan. As a flat purchase is a long-term financial commitment, it would not be prudent for potential home-buyers to take on additional financial burdens that they are unable to sustain.