FIRST-TIME buyers of new Executive Condominium (EC) units can now purchase a second new EC, flats from HDB or those under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).

However, the HDB said that ex-EC owners will have to wait 30 months following the disposal of their ECs before they can apply to purchase a new unit. This is because ECs are considered private housing, it said in a press release on Tuesday.

There is also no debarment period if ex-EC owners choose to buy a resale flat. Currently, first-time buyers who purchased new EC units from developers are permanently debarred from buying another new EC, HDB or DBSS flat. HDB said it will lift the permanent debarment policy 'with immediate effect'.

It also said that second-time buyers of new ECs will no longer have to pay the resale levy. This is to 'align the purchase of new ECs with the DBSS', the HDB said. The revised policy will take effect for the purchase of new EC units commencing from Punggol E4, which the HDB has released for application on Tuesday.

An EC owner who had enjoyed a Central Provident Fund (CPF) housing grant on the purchase of the first EC will have to pay resale levy if the second flat is a new HDB flat.

'As new HDB flats are sold at subsidised prices, the objective of the resale levy is to reduce the subsidy enjoyed by the second-timer on his second subsidised flat,' the HDB said.

The resale levy is fixed at $55,000 for ex-EC owners, which has to be paid when booking the new HDB flat. The levy is not payable if the EC owner opts to buy a new EC or DBSS flat, as they will be paying market prices as determined by the developer.

The HDB also said that private developers of ECs will be required to set aside at least 90 per cent of the flat supply for first-timers during the first month of their sale.

'This is in recognition that first-timer households generally have a more urgent need for housing to start a family,' the HDB said.

After the initial one-month period, the developers will be free to sell the unsold units to any eligible buyer.

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