Speaking at the Parliamentary Appropriations Committee debate on the department's budget, National Development Minister Lee Chee Sing said the new First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples) priority group was aimed at families with at least one child aged 18 or below and young couples up to the age of 40.

They must have never owned or sold a local property and have not had the opportunity to purchase a pre-purchased or surplus HDB flat in the five years prior to making the application.

The Minister said that about 10 per cent of first-time applicants for HDB flats would meet the above criteria. HDB will set aside up to 40% of the pre-purchased HDB flats and 60% of the remaining HDB flats for eligible first-time buyers in each round of sales.

Currently, under the Parenthood Priority Scheme (PPS), 30 per cent of the pre-purchased HDB flats and 50 per cent of the remaining HDB flats are reserved for first-time buyers with underage children.

The Minister also announced the extension of the Childcare Priority Scheme to cover young first-time buyers and the renaming of the scheme as the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme (FPPS).

In addition, eligible first-time buyers of four-bedroom or smaller pre-owned HDB flats in non-established HDB areas will be given priority under the FPPS.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Wong Chiu Choi announced in his Budget Speech for the new financial year that eligible first-time home buyers will be given an additional chance to win the lottery when applying for a HDB flat. This means that they will have three chances to win the lottery.