📌 Quick Answer As of 29 July 2026, eligible first-timer families buying a resale HDB flat may receive up to $230,000 across three CPF housing grants: the CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats, Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG), and the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG). First-timer singles can receive up to $115,000. Your household income, flat size, family circumstances and proximity to your parents or children will determine which grants you may receive. Your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter will confirm your eligibility and amounts. Source: MyNiceHome, updated 29 June 2026.
You find a resale flat in the right neighbourhood. The kitchen needs some work, but the layout is good, the MRT station is nearby and you can already picture where the sofa will go. According to MyNiceHome, there are three main CPF housing grants available to resale flat buyers that can stack but receiving the grants requires several specific conditions to line up.
The total for eligible first-timer families can reach $230,000. For eligible first-timer singles, the total can reach $115,000. But don’t subtract $230,000 from the asking price just yet. An eligible first-timer family would generally need to buy a 2- to 4-room resale flat and live in the purchased flat with their parents or children to qualify for the maximum amount. Change the household income, flat size or living arrangement, and the grant total can look very different.
For example, a couple buying a 4-room flat near their parents may receive a different amount from another couple buying a 5-room flat without the proximity benefit, even if the two flats have similar asking prices. That is why your potential grant amount should help shape your shortlist, rather than being calculated after you have fallen in love with a flat.
In this guide, we will explain the three grants available to eligible resale-flat purchasers and explain how the calculation can change with your buyer profile.
The CPF Housing Grant for resale HDB flats
If you are buying your first HDB resale flat, the CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats is the most logical place to begin. Think of it as the foundation of your potential grant package. Whether you qualify, and how much you could receive, depends mainly on your household type and the size of the resale flat you choose.
Unlike the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, this grant is not awarded on a sliding income scale. Your income still matters because an eligibility ceiling applies, but earning less does not increase the amount.
Eligible first-timer families may receive:
- $80,000 when buying a 2- to 4-room resale flat
- $50,000 when buying a 5-room or larger resale flat
Eligible first-timer singles buying alone may receive:
- $40,000 when buying a 2- to 4-room resale flat
- $25,000 when buying a 5-room resale flat
This means the flat you shortlist can immediately change your grant calculation. For an eligible first-timer family, choosing a 5-room flat instead of a 4-room flat reduces this grant by $30,000. That does not automatically make the larger home unaffordable, but it is a difference worth knowing before you become attached to the extra bedroom.
The Enhanced CPF Housing Grant
Once you have established that you may qualify for the CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats, the next layer to consider is the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG).
This is where two buyers looking at the same type of resale flat could receive very different amounts. Unlike the CPF Housing Grant, the EHG is awarded on a sliding scale based on average monthly household income. Generally, the lower the income, the higher the potential grant.
Eligible first-timer families may receive up to $120,000, subject to a household income ceiling of $9,000 per month. Here is how much the amount can vary:
| Average monthly household income | Potential EHG |
| Up to $1,500 | $120,000 |
| $4,001 to $4,500 | $70,000 |
| $7,001 to $7,500 | $25,000 |
| $8,501 to $9,000 | $5,000 |
| Above $9,000 | Not eligible |
Take a first-timer couple earning an average of $7,500 a month. If they qualify, their potential EHG would be $25,000. This is quite far off the $120,000 maximum. However, together with the $80,000 CPF Housing Grant for a 4-room resale flat, their combined total from these two grants would be $105,000.
That is still a meaningful amount, but it is also $95,000 below the maximum those two grants could provide. This is why it is risky to build your property budget around the biggest number in the headline.
First-timer singles buying alone may receive up to $60,000 in EHG, subject to an income ceiling of $4,500 per month. Different rules and calculations may apply when singles buy with other singles, their parents or a non-resident spouse.
Your income is not the only consideration. You and/or the relevant core household members must generally meet HDB’s employment conditions. According to MyNiceHome, you and your co-applicants must have been in continuous employment for at least 12 months before your HFE letter application. The assessment period runs from 2 months before the month you submit your application. If you changed jobs recently or have gaps in employment, this is worth checking before you assume you qualify.
The resale flat must also have more than 20 years remaining on its lease. To receive the full EHG amount, its lease must be sufficient to cover the youngest core member until age 95; otherwise, the grant may be reduced.
PropertyGuru tip: Treat online grant tables as a useful estimate, not a confirmed discount. If you have recently changed jobs, taken unpaid leave or experienced a break in employment, let your HFE letter do the final maths before setting your resale-flat budget.
The Proximity Housing Grant
If your resale-flat search already centres on being close to your parents or children, the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) could add another $10,000 to $30,000 to your grant package.
The important detail is whether you will live with your family or simply near them. The amounts are different:
Living with parents or children
$30,000
$15,000
Living within 4km of parents or children
$20,000
$10,000
Let us return to our first-timer couple earning an average of $7,500 a month. If they buy a 4-room resale flat within 4km of their parents and meet the relevant conditions, their estimated grants could look like this:
- CPF Housing Grant: $80,000
- EHG: $25,000
- PHG for living near their parents: $20,000
- Potential total: $125,000
If the parents will live with them in the purchased flat, the PHG could increase to $30,000, bringing the potential total to $135,000.
This is a good example of why the $230,000 headline should not become your default budget. Our couple may qualify for all three grants, but their circumstances produce a very different total.
Unlike the CPF Housing Grant and EHG, the PHG is not limited to first-timer buyers and does not have a household income ceiling. However, you can receive it only once, and the family member and property addresses must meet HDB’s eligibility conditions.
PropertyGuru tip: Do not judge “within 4km” from the drive time or how close the neighbourhoods look on a map. Check the addresses using HDB’s official distance checker before allowing the PHG to influence your shortlist.
How the Grants Are Actually Applied
Here is the part that often causes confusion: your housing grants are not handed to you in cash. They are credited to the CPF accounts of the eligible recipients and used towards the resale flat’s purchase price.
Suppose our couple qualifies for $125,000 across the three grants. That amount becomes part of the funds available for the purchase, alongside their CPF savings, cash and housing loan. It could reduce how much they need to borrow or contribute from their other funds, depending on how the purchase is financed.
However, a $125,000 grant does not mean you suddenly have $125,000 available for every home-buying expense. You will still need to budget separately for costs such as:
- Any cash over valuation (COV)
- Renovation and furnishings
- Moving expenses
- Other upfront payments and transaction costs that must be paid in cash
There is also a longer-term consideration. When you eventually sell the flat, the CPF savings used for the purchase, including your housing grants, generally have to be refunded to your CPF account with accrued interest. This is not a cash repayment to the Government, but it may reduce the sale proceeds you receive in cash.
PropertyGuru tip: Think of grants as support towards the purchase price, not cash in hand. Include them in your financing plan, but keep a separate cash budget for the expenses they cannot cover.
What Determines Your Exact Grant Amount
The headline figures of $230,000 and $115,000 are the maximums. Your actual entitlement depends on:
Your household income. The grants are tiered, and lower-income households receive larger amounts. There is no way to know your exact amount without going through the HFE application.
The flat type you are buying. If you buy a BTO, you can only get the EHG. If you buy an open-market resale flat, you can stack the EHG with the CPF Family Grant and the Proximity Housing Grant.
Whether you are a first-timer or second-timer. These grants are specifically for first-timers who have never received a housing subsidy before. If you previously bought a flat directly from HDB or received a CPF housing grant, your eligibility changes.
Your proximity to family. If you qualify for the Proximity Housing Grant, it adds to your total.
Get Your HFE Letter Before Committing to a Flat
Your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter provides HDB’s assessment of what you are actually eligible for. It will state:
- Whether you can purchase an HDB resale flat
- Which CPF housing grants you qualify for and their amounts
- Whether you qualify for an HDB housing loan and the amount available
You must have a valid HFE letter before a resale-flat seller can grant you an Option to Purchase (OTP). You will also need a valid letter when submitting your resale application to HDB.
This makes the HFE letter an important part of setting your search budget. Knowing your assessed grant and loan amounts before negotiating helps you avoid shortlisting flats based on financing that may not be available to you.
An HFE letter is valid for nine months. Processing can take up to one month after HDB receives all the required documents and may take longer during busy periods, so apply early rather than waiting until you find a flat you want.
PropertyGuru tip: You can browse resale listings while waiting, but avoid making affordability decisions based solely on the maximum grant figures. Use your HFE letter to refine your budget before committing to a purchase.
The Bottom Line
HDB resale grants can make a meaningful difference to your home-buying budget, but the maximum figures will not apply to every purchaser. Your household income, the size of the flat and whether you will live with or near your parents or children can all affect the final amount.
Before shortlisting flats, estimate the grants that apply to your circumstances and obtain your HFE letter to confirm your eligibility. Then factor in the expenses your grants cannot cover, including any cash over valuation, renovations and other cash payments.
The goal is not to find a flat first and work out the financing later. Start with a realistic budget, understand the support available to you and use those figures to guide your resale-flat search.
Get the full details on HDB housing grants at mynicehome.gov.sg/get-started/hdb-grants-guide/.
Get the full details on HDB housing grants at mynicehome.gov.sg/get-started/hdb-grants-guide/.
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