To maintain fair allocation of flats, various adjustments were made to keep up with changing times and circumstances. Flats were allocated under the Waiting List System, Booking System, Registration for Flats System, and currently the Build-To-Order System.
In providing homes for residents, we were also mindful to ensure social cohesion and a good racial mix among various ethnic communities living in public housing estates. Hence, in 1989, the Ethnic Integration Policy was implemented. In addition, since 2010, the Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) quota has specified a maximum proportion of non-Malaysian SPR households within a block or neighbourhood. The SPR quota ensures that SPR families can integrate into the local community for social cohesion.
In pricing our flats, our principle has always been to keep homes within the reach of the majority of flat buyers. In 2006, the Additional CPF Housing Grant Scheme was introduced to help lower income families own their first homes. Since then, other grants have been put in place to help home buyers afford HDB flats. On average, buyers can expect to use less than a quarter of their monthly household income to pay for the mortgage instalment of their first flat, a figure lower than the international benchmarks for affordable housing.