Executive condominiums (ECs) are definitely a good buying option as they offer the same exclusivity as private condos but are also eligible for government subsidies, according to property consultants.
“ECs have most, if not all, of the facilities of private mass-market condominiums and are generally comparable in design and facilities,” noted Chia Siew Chiun, Director of Research & Advisory at Colliers International.
She added that ECs can be “a good buy for HDB flat upgraders…as well as first-timers in the sandwich class”.
After 10 years, they are considered fully privatised and can be sold to foreigners.
Prospective EC buyers should have a monthly household income of less than S$12,000 and should not own a private condo. They also need to fulfil the five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and cannot rent out the entire unit during that period.
Meanwhile, some EC owners who bought their homes over a decade ago are now enjoying the rising value of their units.
For instance, units at the Nuovo project (pictured) in Ang Mo Kio were being sold for an average of S$399 psf when it was launched in 2001, but went up to S$789 psf in the first five months of this year.
At the same time, prices at private condo Goldenhill Park, also launched in 2001, went up to an average of S$1,250 psf in the past five months of 2012 from the initial S$705 psf.
According to Nicholas Mak, Research Head at SLP International Property Consultancy, lower prices in the past may have been due to the government’s efforts to promote ECs.
The first batch of eight ECs launched in the 1990s recorded relatively lower prices.
“The EC option helped to reduce the long queue of sandwich-class home buyers who wanted executive flats, which were larger HDB flats then,” he noted.
Source : PropertyGuru – 2012 Jun 8
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