Category Archives: HDB

Govt will look out for all homeowners

Future housing policies will take into consideration all homeowners, not just new ones, Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of National Development Dr Mohamad Maliki said at the second “Our Singapore Conversation on Housing” session held yesterday (May 8).

Dr Maliki stressed that existing homeowners’ interests will be considered even as changes to public housing policy are being discussed, noting how prices of new Build-To-Order (BTO) flats could have an impact on the resale market.

“How we manage the property market will have an impact on current home owners and we should not forget that because when we talk about prices of new flats, at some point, the behaviours of buyers will move in a certain direction and there will be impact on the resale market,” cautioned Dr Maliki.

The participants, who numbered more than 50, were also joined by Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Penny Low, who sits on the National Development Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC).

Topics discussed at yesterday evening’s session included whether the Executive Condominium and Design, Build and Sell Scheme should continue, whether the range of public housing currently available is adequate, and if the income ceiling for the purchase of BTO flats should be raised or possibly even removed.

Responding to calls by participants to remove the income ceiling for the purchase of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, Dr Maliki acknowledged the complexity of housing all Singaporeans while meeting all aspirations and expectations.

“With (housing) 100 per cent, there will be more complexities because groups of people want different things and so that diversity is also something we have to consider,” said Dr Maliki.

Source – Today – 9 May 2013

Lack of supply boosts HDB shop prices

Limited demand and supply from investors have pushed up rents and prices of HDB shops in the last three years, mostly affecting small and medium-sized retailers, The Straits Times reported.

George Wong, who runs a bubble tea shop in Toa Payoh, said he pays about S$3,800 monthly for a 380 sq ft unit, or half of a first-storey HDB shop.

“Most HDB shops islandwide could be rented at S$4,000 to S$5,000 per month five years ago. Now for that amount you’d get only half a shop,” said property agent Henry Ong, adding that prices have risen in tandem with increasing resale values.

But coffee shops are usually priced 20 to 30 percent higher than other shops as they draw more customers, said Chris Koh, Director at Chris International.

Grace Ng, Deputy Managing Director at Colliers International, noted that resale prices of HDB shophouses have shot up by 30 to 50 percent over the past few years. She added that shops in areas like Clementi Town Centre could be resold from S$3.5 million to S$10 million, based on location and size.

Despite this demand, as of March only 8,500 shops (out of the 14,450 HDB shops island-wide) were available on the resale market. The remaining 5,950 units were owned and leased out by the HDB.
Source – PropGuru – 2013 May 9