In the Financial Year (FY) 2024, HDB incurred a net deficit of $6.34 billion before government grants. Of this, $5.51 billion was incurred for the Home Ownership segment, covering the development and sale of flats and disbursement of housing grants to eligible households of new and resale flats. Another $532 million was spent on various rejuvenation and upgrading programmes to revitalise HDB towns and flats.

2 HDB Chief Executive Officer Mr Tan Meng Dui said: "Our substantial deficit in FY 2024 reflects our unwavering commitment to providing affordable and quality homes for Singaporeans. During the FY, we continued to roll out a steady supply of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, commencing construction on about 23,600 flats to meet housing demand. At the same time, as our towns and flats age, we are also investing heavily to upgrade them, with $532 million spent on upgrading programmes to keep HDB estates vibrant and flats liveable.”

Supporting Singaporeans’ Housing Needs

3 HDB incurs a significant deficit every year, as the amount collected from the sale of flats is lower than the total development cost of BTO flats and housing grants disbursed. The $5.51 billion deficit incurred for the Home Ownership segment in FY 2024 was mainly from gross loss on the sale of flats, expected losses on flats currently under development, and disbursement of CPF Housing Grants.

Table 1: Key drivers of Home Ownership Segment for FY 2024

Gross loss on the sale of flats	Gross loss of $1.77 billion for 14,900 flat sales completed (keys issued to buyers) in FY 2024.
Expected loss for flats currently under development after releasing provisions for completed sales	After the release of provisions made for completed sales, HDB recorded $2.69 billion in the provision for foreseeable loss for flats currently under development in FY 2024. When HDB begins development of new housing projects, provision is made for the estimated loss of these projects as HDB flats are sold at subsidised prices below their development cost. This provision is updated during the construction phase of the project, due to cost changes. With the completion of sales when keys are issued to flat buyers, the provision for foreseeable loss will then be released, and the actual loss from sales will be reflected (i.e. gross loss on the sale of flats). In FY 2024, about 23,600 flats commenced development while 14,900 flat sales were completed.
Disbursement of CPF Housing Grants	$881 million disbursed to eligible buyers of resale flats and Executive Condominiums in FY 2024.

4 Separately, HDB continued to upgrade and spruce up rental flats for lower-income Singaporeans and those in need of housing support in FY 2024. As a result, HDB spent about $159 million for the provision of rental flats to eligible tenants under the various rental housing schemes.

Upgrading HDB Homes & Estates

5 To ensure that HDB towns keep pace with the evolving needs of residents, HDB regularly revitalises estates and flats through a suite of rejuvenation and upgrading programmes, which are heavily subsidised or fully funded by the Government. In FY 2024, HDB spent $532 million on upgrading programmes such as the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), and Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), 34% higher than the $396 million spent in FY 2023. The increase was due to more HIP projects reaching peak construction phase in FY 2024, when spending is typically highest.

6 HDB also spent $570 million on residential ancillary functions in FY 2024, including lease administration, provision and management of facilities such as car parks in housing estates, and planning and building administration. The 28% increase from $446 million in FY 2023 was largely attributed to higher expenditure on the Electrical Load Upgrading Programme (ELUP), as more HDB blocks were upgraded to accommodate residents’ growing electricity needs.

Keeping Public Housing Affordable and Accessible

7 HDB remains committed to keeping public housing affordable and accessible. HDB provides significant market discounts for new flats and various housing grants to first-timer buyers of new and resale flats. As a result, 9 in 10 first-timer families who collected keys to their BTO flats in 2024 have been able to service their HDB housing loans using their CPF with little or no cash outlay.

8 To meet housing demand, HDB will launch about 55,000 new flats from 2025 to 2027. Of these, 4,000 Shorter Waiting Time (SWT) flats will be offered per year in 2026 and 2027. This is part of our continued efforts to reduce waiting times and expand housing options for home buyers with more pressing housing needs.

9 We will continue to review and refine our housing policies where necessary, to support the housing needs and aspirations of Singaporeans and ensure that public housing remains affordable, accessible and inclusive.

Note: Figures are rounded off to the nearest billion/million and percentages are rounded off to the nearest whole number

HDB Spent Over $6 Billion in FY 2024 to Keep Public Housing Affordable and Liveable