Singles don't expect same chance as couples

-

Straits Times: Wed, Aug 29

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong may have hinted at the National Day Rally that singles will soon be allowed to buy new flats from the Housing Board (HDB) - but singles are not holding their breath.

While they welcomed the prospect of having access to brand new, subsidised flats and not just being confined to the resale market, they do not expect to be put on a level playing field with married couples.

"Will we actually get the same chance as couples? Or just delegated the flats that they don't want, or the projects that are undersubscribed?" wondered Mr Heng Chin Chuan, 34.

The television producer and part-time lecturer lives with his parents. With his $3,500 to $4,000 monthly income, private property is out of his reach, and a resale flat a stretch.

In fact, observers predict that given the HDB's longstanding goal of using public housing to encourage marriage and child-bearing, the policy change for singles will come with many caveats.

HSR Property Group special adviser Donald Han said: "Singles may be able to join the queue to buy new flats for the first time, but they will be put at the back of the queue."

He predicted that singles will be allowed to buy only three- room or smaller flats, and perhaps only in certain areas, such as the less popular non-mature estates.

There is a precedent: Before 2001, the HDB allowed singles to buy resale flats of only three- room or smaller size, and only in towns outside the central area.

The minimum age for a single to buy any HDB flat has always been 35. Singles above that age are allowed to buy any resale flat, and those earning $5,000 or less a month are eligible for a cash grant of $15,000 and an HDB loan.

Singles bought 3,972 HDB resale flats last year, 16.1 per cent of the total.

SLP International research head Nicholas Mak said it is possible that the HDB will sell new flats to singles at a marked-up price to what couples pay.

When a couple buys a Build- to-Order (BTO) flat, the discounted price enjoyed is the HDB's subsidy for two Singaporeans. "So if a single can buy at the same price, he or she is enjoying a double subsidy," pointed out Mr Mak.

He said new HDB flats are still a scarce commodity, with new projects in mature towns still oversubscribed. This may give rise to public backlash over allowing singles access to BTO flats.

It remains to be seen if the supply of new flats promised by the HDB - 25,000 this year, with 20,000 promised for next year - will be sufficient to accommodate a buyer base that will include singles, said observers.

That is because it is not clear yet which singles are allowed to join the BTO queue, and what criteria they will be subject to.

But Mr Liang Eng Hwa, an MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, reckoned the Government must have calculated the supply of flats coming onstream will be sufficient to meet demand from both couples and singles; if not, the policy change would not have been announced.

Despite uncertainty over what the final policy change will be, singles were happy with PM Lee's acknowledgement that with high resale prices, they have few options for a home of their own.

"The Government should also help Singaporeans who are outliers and do not conform to the idea of traditional families," said Ms K. Thanaletchimi, 49, president of the health-care service employees' union. "Singles are also taxpayers who have a stake in nation building."

Mr Heng said: "I'm glad there is a recognition that HDB policy discriminates against us. There are different definitions of a family nucleus. Singles are also part of the bigger Singapore family."

  
Martin Koh | 86666 944 | R020968Z
Sherry Tang | 9844 4400 | R020241C
Senior Sales Director
Email: marshe_inc@yahoo.com.sg
DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd (L3006301G)

| www.marshe.sg | www.marsheproperties.com.sg | www.hudcsg.blogspot.com |
| www.hausatserangoon.sg | www.8riversuites.com |

Popular posts from this blog

Pines Club to be redeveloped

-
Image
The Straits Times  |  MARCH 22, 2013 The Pines Club in Stevens Road will be made over into a hotel and commercial development in an ambitious redevelopment plan. A unit of developer Oxley Holdings has agreed to buy the 18,477 sq m estate for $318 million on a 103-year lease. Oxley has obtained provisional permission to develop two blocks of eight-storey hotels, two blocks of two-storey commercial buildings and a four-storey clubhouse with a basement on the site, according to a company statement to the Singapore Exchange. The club's facilities will be integrated into the new complex. Motoring tycoon Peter Kwee told The Straits Times that club members will be offered places at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club in Changi during the interim construction period. He owns both clubs. Members will be able to use the Stevens Road clubhouse facilities after the redevelopment, estimated to take between two and three years. Talk about the estate's ma
Read more

7 BTO projects launched, BTO supply in 2012 a record

-
Image
SINGAPORE: HDB launched seven Build-To-Order (BTO) projects on Wednesday, offering 6,463 new flats in two non-mature towns (Choa Chu Kang and Sengkang) and three mature towns (Bedok, Queenstown and Toa Payoh). With this launch, the total BTO flat supply in 2012 will reach 27,084 units. This will be the largest BTO supply in a year since the BTO system was introduced in 2002. Together with another 7,153 balance flats offered earlier in the March and September 2012 Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises, HDB has launched a total of 34,237 new flats in 2012. In January 2013, HDB will offer about 3,320 BTO flats in Ang Mo Kio, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Kallang Whampoa, Tampines and Yishun. HDB is planning for at least 20,000 BTO flats in 2013. First-timers will continue to enjoy priority flat allocation with at least 95% and 85% of the BTO flat supply (excluding Studio Apartments) set aside for them in mature towns and non-mature towns respectively. The Multi-Gener
Read more

Former Bt Timah Turf Club may become private estate: analyst

-
Image
Channelnewsasia.com | Posted: 13 February 2013 2007 hrs SINGAPORE: Property analysts said the former Bukit Timah Turf Club area will probably be redeveloped into a private residential estate, consisting of a mix of landed properties and condominiums. The government is setting aside this piece of land for residential use as part of the recently-released Land Use Plan. The Grandstand is an establishment that sits on the former Bukit Timah Turf Club. The new family lifestyle development was set up just last year. But in five years' time, it may no longer be around. The lease expires in 2018 and housing redevelopment is expected to begin then. Analysts believe the lease may not be extended. Nicholas Mak, executive director of research and consultancy at SLP International said: "If any of these operators have plans to upgrade or to renovate their premises, I think they have to take into consideration that they probably have only about five years left to
Read more