Tag Archives: HDB News

The great public housing debate

Posted on 17 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on The great public housing debate

Insight examines the six most hotly debated issues among house-hunters today.
Interest in Housing Board flats, especially new projects like the one on display at the HDB Hub, is rising as prices of resale flats soar to new highs. The resultant crunch has caused fingers to be pointed in all directions. — PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

THE financial gloom has barely lifted, and economic uncertainties still cloud the horizon, and yet prices of resale HDB flats have hit an all-time high.

Home-seekers priced out of resale flats have jammed queues for new flats, prompting the Housing Board to ramp up its supply of new flats for the coming months. Continue reading →

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Are permanent residents driving up resale flat prices?

Posted on 17 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on Are permanent residents driving up resale flat prices?

IT IS easy to pin the blame on new migrants, given the news that Singapore let in a good 55,000 more permanent residents (PRs) in the year leading up to June. This means that the number of PRs grew by 11.5 per cent, the biggest jump in at least six years.

more permanent residents

As a PR cannot buy a new flat directly from the HDB, his cheapest option is a resale flat. Typically, PRs pick up three- to four-room flats before upgrading to bigger homes once they become fully fledged citizens.

Major property agency ERA did not allay suspicions of the PR link to rising prices when it revealed last month that PRs made up 40 per cent of buyers in its resale flat deals. Three years ago, they accounted for just 20 per cent of its buyers.

Since ERA-only deals account for about 30 per cent of the HDB resale market, many home-seekers are quick to conclude that PRs are to be blamed.

But HDB statistics show that PRs bought only about 20 per cent of resale flats this year. That proportion has stayed roughly constant over the past three years. Continue reading →

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