Monday, 31 August 2009

• HDB keeps it affordable ... so thay say

  
  These days the word 'affordability' in the HDB context can be taken with ton of salt. Just take it like a 'fake truth' word. Affordability now means that if you can buy - good, there will be available grants to assist you. If you can't - too bad loh. No where does affordability mean cheap anymore. Cheap is the only reasonable and sensible option from a home seekers point of view, something HDB the seller seems to be blatantly oblivious about or ..act blur.

  They'll start telling you that you have to be finanicial prudent with your home purchase while the price of flats increases year after year. And HDB feels nothing to be concern about. There is actually no moral rationale from asking the Minister of National Development and telling him about the ground concerns with the living cost and price of flats. And if you probe further by asking for a breakdown of the land cost to the construction cost, you will only get a commerical non-reply, like it has always been. What a sham shame.

  Those getting married and looking for a place would certainly be confused or disheartened by the moral philosophy HDB is embarking but have no other choice. For singles, this predicament poses a major concern to them if they do want to settle down in Singapore and call it home. Love that makes it to the HDB phase is tough love. And not many couples are that strong when our Singapore environment is economy sensitive. If you can pay your home mortgage - good. If you can't - don't worry, garment will tell you to help yourselves. 

  For those who do find their new home, I salute you. Even though you might find the prices of your flat outrageously expensive, you solemnly accept it and pay your monthly mortgage for the next 25-30 years?

  And then there are those property greedy Singaporeans chasing the property dream. Buying their units and then selling them at a quick profit after a few years. They are the cause for pushing prices up and giving HDB the very excuse to peg new homes according to 'market forces'.
   

  
  How HDB keeps it affordable
  http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_423412.html

  WE REFER to the letters, 'High HDB prices: Squeezed even harder' and 'Two shortcomings: Public housing too correlated to private market, and HDB has not regulated supply' (both Aug 22); and 'Flat hunting: Why was cash over valuation ever introduced?' (Aug 20).

  Cash over valuation: Resale flat prices are the result of negotiations between willing buyers and sellers. Cash over valuation (COV) arises when buyers are willing to pay more than the market value of the flat, as determined by professional valuers.
  However, for financial prudence, HDB and the banks will provide a loan of only up to 90 per cent of the market valuation. Therefore, if a buyer is willing to pay more than the valuation, the excess will need to be paid in cash, thus the term cash over valuation.

  COV is not determined nor imposed by the Government. However, we can expect a flat seller to ask for as high a price as possible. On their part, buyers should first arm themselves with relevant information before negotiating with flat sellers.

  To help buyers and sellers make informed decisions, HDB provides information on recently transacted resale prices and COV on its website. In July this year, 31 per cent of resale transactions were conducted with no COV. The median COV level was $7,000. Given the wide range of flats in the resale market, flat buyers should buy a flat they can afford.

  Supply of new flats: Besides resale flats, new flats form another part of the housing supply to meet demand. In response to rising demand, HDB has steadily increased the supply of new flats. From just 2,400 new flats in 2006, in the first half of this year alone, 4,300 new flats were offered. Given the continuing strong demand, HDB will increase the new flat supply under the Build-To-Order (BTO) system this year to at least 8,000 units.

  Affordability: HDB aims to make public housing affordable for eligible first-time households. These households are generously subsidised for their purchase of new or resale flats. On average, first-time households used 21 per cent and 25 per cent of their monthly income to service their loans on new and resale HDB flats respectively in non-mature estates. These figures are well below the international affordability benchmark of 30 per cent.
  The monthly household income ceiling of $8,000 allows a vast majority of Singaporean households - about 80 per cent - to qualify for subsidised housing. Households whose income exceeds this ceiling can buy resale flats, where there is a wide range of supply to suit varying budgets.

  For example, if a household with a monthly income of $10,000 buys a five-room resale flat in a non-mature estate at the average price of $364,000, it would need only about 15 per cent of its income to service its loan

  1,142 Punggol flats for sale 
  http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_423628.html
  
  HDB is putting on sale 1,142 units of flats at Punggol Spectra under the Build-To-Order (BTO) system today, following strong interest in the recent BTO project, Punggol Residences.

  The flats comprise 301 two-room units, 285 three-room units and 556 four-roomers.

  The prices range from $89,000 to $109,000 for the two-room flats, $151,000 to $179,000 for the three-room flats and $234,000 to $293,000 for the four-room flats.

  These are priced below similar flats in the market and are affordable to first-time flat buyers, said HDB in a statement on Monday.

  Situated along Punggol Central, Punggol Spectra is within walking distance to Oasis LRT station.

  The Tampines Expressway is a short drive away, thus offering good connectivity to the rest of Singapore.

  The precinct offers commercial facilities such as shops, eating house and supermarket. The future Punggol Town Centre is just minutes away. Educational institutions such as Horizon Primary School and Punggol Secondary School are also located in the vicinity.

  HDB said based on the income of flat applicants in the first half of this year, it is expected that first time flat buyers will only need to use between 20 to 26 per cent of their monthly household income to meet their housing loan commitments if they buy a flat at Punggol Spectra.

  'This is well below the 30 per centinternational benchmark for affordable housing,' it said.

  On top of a market subsidy on the selling price, eligible first-timers whose average monthly household income is $5,000 or less can also apply for an Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) of up to $40,000. The AHG can be used to offset the initial downpayment.

  Including this exercise, HDB has offered about 4,800 flats under BTO and other sales exercises this year.

  Flat buyers can look forward to more BTO projects ahead, said the board. These projects will be located in towns such as Punggol, Sengkang, and Sembawang.

  More details will be provided when the projects are launched.

  The total BTO supply for this year is expected to reach 8,000 units.

  'HDB will continue to monitor the market situation closely, to ensure that there is adequate and affordable supply of public housing,' said the statement.

  Applications for the BTO can be submitted online from Monday to Sept 14.

  For enquiries, the public can e-mail hdbsales@hdb.gov.sg or call the Sales/Resale Customer Service Line at 1800-866 3066 on weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm.

  They can also visit the HDB Sales Office to speak with Customer Service Officers during office hours (Mon to Fri 8 am to 5 pm, Saturday 8 am to 1 pm).
  
  
  

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