Govt open to extending singles housing policy to more people
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SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan says the government is open to raising the income ceiling to allow more singles to buy new HDB flats.
But this will depend on how manageable application rates are for the new scheme, which was announced on Friday during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry for National Development.
Singaporeans aged 35 and above, who are singles and earn up to S$5,000 a month, can soon apply to buy two-room Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in non-mature estates.
The government is still finalising details of the policy but aims to let the first batch of eligible singles apply in the July BTO launch.
Speaking on the sidelines of a community event on Sunday, Mr Khaw said housing policies need to be gently tweaked before more adjustments are made.
He explained that baby steps are taken so as not to impact the property market drastically.
This goes for building new homes too, and the trick is to determine the correct supply to meet demand.
Mr Khaw said it would not be practical for the government to build 25,000 flats annually, if there are only 15,000 marriages.
Building in excess may also hurt the rental market where some 40,000 HDB flats are being sublet in whole.
"There are something like 80,000, 90,000 families out there - which is a lot - who are depending on rental income. So they will suffer, for example, if there is a collapse in the rental market," said Mr Khaw.
Mr Khaw said housing policies cannot be toyed around with, like the computer game "SimCity" where players are tasked to develop a virtual city.
"Singapore is not 'SimCity', because if you manipulate wrongly, it hurts people, real people, fellow Singaporeans. Then what? So, I think, let's be a little bit reflective," he said.
Mr Khaw said there is no one perfect housing initiative that will please everybody. The important thing is for Singaporeans to think carefully about the trade-offs between different policies, he said.
In this respect, he hopes citizens will come forward and have a conversation with him, as the government fine-tunes the various steps taken to improve the housing situation in Singapore.
Mr Khaw said it should take around two to four months to gather views from different stakeholders.
While Members of Parliament and the public have offered suggestions, Mr Khaw said it is crucial to determine which of them are workable.
And a key indicator of this is how housing prices are impacted.
Whatever trade-offs are made, they have to be sustainable over the long term, said Mr Khaw.
On the various cooling measures introduced, Mr Khaw said the government is aiming for a "soft-landing" approach, not a sharp correction to the property market.
He said around 40 to 50 per cent of homeowners are still servicing mortgages and a drastic drop in property prices may prompt banks to ask the homeowners to top up loans, causing severe financial problems.
- CNA/ir -
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Nobody wants to buy 2 room flats, that's why they allow singles to buy to clear stock ?
Some people from other forums saying that.
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maybe a single Male will meet a single Female within the block.....
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Originally posted by Just_do_it_lah:
maybe a single Male will meet a single Female within the block.....
If you are applying for bto that means you need to wait for around 2-3 years?
If you are 35 and you apply, then it means you get your flat when you are 37 or 38?
If you think single guy can meet single girl within same block and paktor, then paktor until age 39-40 in best case scenario?
You think can start family?
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Average resale prices for suburban condominiums exceeded $1,000 psf last month, the first time they have passed what for many buyers is a daunting level.
Prices rose 5.1 per cent to a record $1,046 psf in February compared with January, said the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) yesterday.Average condo resale prices in the city fringe were also up last month, adding 3.1 per cent from January to a record $1,272 psf.In contrast, average resale prices in the city centre declined 4.7 per cent month-on-month to $1,788 psf in February.The SRX also reported that the Chinese New Year break resulted in February resales dropping by more than half from January.Only 325 resales were carried out last month, according to flash figures, but that was still higher than the 309 transactions reported in January last year, the month in which Chinese New Year fell.The continued growth in property values combined with softer rents also squeezed rental yields.Yields dipped 0.2 per cent in the city fringe and suburban regions last month from January, although they inched up 0.1 per cent in the city centre.Rents fell islandwide, with the sharpest decline in the city fringe, down 1.9 per cent in February from January.Suburban home rents fell 1.6 per cent and city centre rents decreased 0.4 per cent.However, rents for shoebox units - flats up to 500 sq feet - went the other way, rising 1.8 per cent in psf terms overall.Shoebox apartments rented for $6.17 psf per month on average in suburban areas last month, twice the $3.07 psf for larger units in the same region, according to SRX flash figures.That was almost as high as city-fringe shoebox rentals, which were $6.34 psf per month on average. Their larger counterparts had monthly average rentals of $3.80 psf.Rentals for city centre shoebox units were $7.40 psf per month on average, 63 per cent higher than the $4.54 psf for larger units in that area.Market watchers expect Urban Vista prices to range from $1,500 to $1,600 per sq ft (psf) - higher than the median condominium prices in neighbouring Bedok.Source: The Straits Times, 09 March 2013 -
i think it is good to build a moderate number of 2 room or studio -like apartment, for singles and old age people. but price for BTO is very asspensive still.
So are build and materials. very noisy upstairs if people drag furnitures or create noises! also besie lifts the lift go up and down very noisy. i wonder how they select and pay the architects - haiz!i think HDB also need tolook into how the flats' design.
the flooring and walls really cannot withstandpeople like the PRC's who cum from swaku villages and think they are living on land instead of community high rise flats.
the bomb shelter is another joke. every flat bottom should have bomb shelter enough for number total of occupants in a block of flats. the design of these bomb shelters in each unit is funnier still. when you cose the door have to use strength and the sound produced can resonate all along the row of same level flat units. please give us bak the old usual store oom lah. if reallt bomb i dont think the shelters in each unit can save lives. instead build one unit underground per flat lah. if we lookinat detering gas and chemical attacks, maybe we can implement sealds at the windows that cancels out environmental noise when fully closed shut and are air tight also.
like that still dare to raise S/CC !
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BTO is affordable.
Only 30 year mortgage loan.
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not to forget interest rates accumulated.
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core pricing still affordable with $1000/m salary
maybe for those cannot even count with their fingers
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Interest rates so low.
Who scared ?
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30 year mortgage loan.
Huat ah.
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huat for whoever giving out the loan, be it banks or HDB. 30 years worth of passive income for them.I haven't even touched on the principal amount.
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design of flooriing very bad. drop things noise can hear. if the maximum strenght of the flooring is met, excess area hollo in between the floor slab can have cushioning material that cancells shocjk and noise from heavy sudden imapct. lifts also bad. dont know is life maintence not done properly or components bad war or design. so noisy when go up and down. like that can increase S/cc arh?! the gears and brak not smooth must be real bad design or technology, surrounding walls also not shock vibration sound proof.
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Sure or not?
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Originally posted by New launch:
Average resale prices for suburban condominiums exceeded $1,000 psf last month, the first time they have passed what for many buyers is a daunting level.
Prices rose 5.1 per cent to a record $1,046 psf in February compared with January, said the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) yesterday.Average condo resale prices in the city fringe were also up last month, adding 3.1 per cent from January to a record $1,272 psf.In contrast, average resale prices in the city centre declined 4.7 per cent month-on-month to $1,788 psf in February.The SRX also reported that the Chinese New Year break resulted in February resales dropping by more than half from January.Only 325 resales were carried out last month, according to flash figures, but that was still higher than the 309 transactions reported in January last year, the month in which Chinese New Year fell.The continued growth in property values combined with softer rents also squeezed rental yields.Yields dipped 0.2 per cent in the city fringe and suburban regions last month from January, although they inched up 0.1 per cent in the city centre.Rents fell islandwide, with the sharpest decline in the city fringe, down 1.9 per cent in February from January.Suburban home rents fell 1.6 per cent and city centre rents decreased 0.4 per cent.However, rents for shoebox units - flats up to 500 sq feet - went the other way, rising 1.8 per cent in psf terms overall.Shoebox apartments rented for $6.17 psf per month on average in suburban areas last month, twice the $3.07 psf for larger units in the same region, according to SRX flash figures.That was almost as high as city-fringe shoebox rentals, which were $6.34 psf per month on average. Their larger counterparts had monthly average rentals of $3.80 psf.Rentals for city centre shoebox units were $7.40 psf per month on average, 63 per cent higher than the $4.54 psf for larger units in that area.Market watchers expect Urban Vista prices to range from $1,500 to $1,600 per sq ft (psf) - higher than the median condominium prices in neighbouring Bedok.Source: The Straits Times, 09 March 2013First post.
You must be a property agent.
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Huat ah.
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Heard the area size 35 to 45 sq m.
Very Small....
a living prison.
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So you think nobody will buy ?
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If your neighbour is a female....
then Ho Say Liao....
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Originally posted by charlize:
So you think nobody will buy ?
If the price is right lah....
knn... so small 35 sqm, like a hotel room with toilet, kitchen, living hall, bed... all built in 1 small box....
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I wonder why they built such small flats.
Should build minimum 3 room flats.
That's about a reasonable size.