Statistics on Mortgage and Total Debt Servicing Ratios among HDB Resale Flat Buyers

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for National Development since 2013 (a) what is the 25th percentile, mean, median and 75th percentile mortgage servicing ratio among HDB resale flat buyers on an annual basis; and (b) what is the 25th percentile, mean, median and 75th percentile total debt servicing ratio among HDB resale flat buyers on an annual basis.

Mr Desmond Lee: HDB and MAS impose caps on the mortgage servicing ratio (MSR) and total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) on HDB borrowers, to encourage financial prudence when making property purchases. The MSR is capped at 30% and applies to housing loans granted by both HDB and Financial Institutions (FIs) for the purchase of a HDB flat, or an Executive Condominium (EC) unit that is within the minimum occupation period. The TDSR cap is 60% 1 and only applies to housing loans granted by FIs, including those extended to HDB flat buyers.

The MSR and TDSR for HDB flat buyers are generally well below their respective limits in the period from 2013 to 2021 (till Q3), and the figures are shown in Table 1.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 47:

1 MAS expects any property loan extended by Financial Institutions (FIs) to not exceed a TDSR threshold of 60%. TDSR considers repayments for all debt obligations, including unsecured debt and car loans, in addition to the property loan.