Housing for sandwiched Singaporeans, essentially. It was made for those who are affluent enough to get more than an HDB flat, but might struggle with taking on, say, a $1.5 million condo.
An EC is built by private developers just like a condo. It has common facilities like a gym, pool, BBQ pits, etc. However, the difference is that an EC counts as an HDB property for the first 10 years.
That means, for instance, that you cannot sell your EC to a foreigner or company in the first 10 years, as it's an HDB property. The first batch of buyers for an EC are also subject to a five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP); you cannot rent out the whole unit or sell it on the open market until the MOP is over.
(Ps. there's also an income ceiling of $16,000 per month to buy an EC, which of course doesn't exist for a private condo).
After the first 10 years, the EC is fully privatised, and has none of the HDB restrictions.
In addition, you can get a grant to buy an EC, albeit a more limited one compared to flats; it's up to $30,000 (Seedly has covered it before here).
Price wise, ECs across Singapore averaged $937 psf in October 2020. Condos averaged $1,559 psf in that same month. So you are paying quite a bit less.
Housing for sandwiched Singaporeans, essentially. It was made for those who are affluent enough to get more than an HDB flat, but might struggle with taking on, say, a $1.5 million condo.
An EC is built by private developers just like a condo. It has common facilities like a gym, pool, BBQ pits, etc. However, the difference is that an EC counts as an HDB property for the first 10 years.
That means, for instance, that you cannot sell your EC to a foreigner or company in the first 10 years, as it's an HDB property. The first batch of buyers for an EC are also subject to a five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP); you cannot rent out the whole unit or sell it on the open market until the MOP is over.
(Ps. there's also an income ceiling of $16,000 per month to buy an EC, which of course doesn't exist for a private condo).
After the first 10 years, the EC is fully privatised, and has none of the HDB restrictions.
In addition, you can get a grant to buy an EC, albeit a more limited one compared to flats; it's up to $30,000 (Seedly has covered it before here).
Price wise, ECs across Singapore averaged $937 psf in October 2020. Condos averaged $1,559 psf in that same month. So you are paying quite a bit less.