If apart from applying BTOs, ECs are potential options for you, this might be helpful.
The deferred payment scheme is similar to HDB's deferred income assessment, except that it's for executive condominiums.
It works well for singles or young couples who are not ready to take up a loan because they are still studying or just joined the workforce. It gives us time to increase our income, credit scores and also accumulate CPF OA funds.
Essentially, you only need to pay for the 20% downpayment. The other 80% of purchase price will be deferred until after the EC has been fully constructed and keys are collected, which is usually 3-4 years later. So between the 20% downpayment and after the EC has completed construction, you don't need to pay a single cent, just save up, accumulate your CPF and wait to maximize your loan later on.
For example, there's an upcoming EC in Pasir Ris (Coastal Cabana) launching this december, it TOPs in late 2028. So you'll pay for the 20% downpayment this dec/next jan. You can defer the rest of the payment to late 2028 onwards and wait to only apply for a loan in 2028 to maximize your leverage.
But here's the catch, the 20% downpayment has to be paid in cash.
MAS mandates that in order for your CPF OA funds to be used for property purchase, CPF needs a Loan Offer from the bank, which basically means you need to confirm your loan amount. (CPF wants to know how much you're loaning so they know how much CPF funds to unlock for you to use). But since we want to delay our loan application in order to maximize the loan amount, we will not be able apply for the loan and unlock our CPF funds to pay for the 15% downpayment, resorting to paying the downpayment fully using cash.
So all in all, you can still afford the EC with the help of a sufficiently large loan through the deferred payment scheme, but you'll need to fork out more cash at the start to enjoy this privilege.
Extra details/clarifications:
Stamp duty & legal fee can still be paid using CPF. You just cannot use CPF for the downpayment
If you opt for the deferred payment scheme, the price of the unit will increase by 3-4%
Not all units can be purchased using the DPS (Depends on developer to choose)
Normal payment scheme will follow the same payment method/schedule as regular new condos