Tag Archives: The Peak @ Toa Payoh

Are homes affordable?

Posted on 27 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on Are homes affordable?

About a year ago, in a special report, I waded into the debate over the affordability of public flats.
The prices of Pinnacle@Duxton’s five-room units, which hit $645,000, sparked the debate on the affordability of Singapore’s public flats. — ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

The issue had been sparked by the relaunch of Pinnacle @ Duxton last September. With prices of its five-room units reaching $645,000, the Pinnacle has become Singapore’s costliest public housing project.

At that time as well, condo-style flats under the HDB’s Design, Build, and Sell Scheme (DBSS) were going for over $700,000 for the bigger units.

Indignant home buyers flooded The Straits Times Forum with letters on what they saw as an ‘upwards price spiral’ of HDB flats. Netizens also weighed in. Continue reading →

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Developers raise price of DBSS flats to ride on property boom

Posted on 5 Sep 2009 | Comments Off on Developers raise price of DBSS flats to ride on property boom

Private developers have raised the prices of HDB’s Design, Build and Sell scheme (DBSS) flats to capitalize on the property boom, this coming days after Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan conceding that prices of resale HDB flats will continue to rise.

DBSS projects are designed, built and sold by private developers. They offer condominium-style fittings, layouts and facilities but are subject to public housing rules, such as the household income ceiling, ethnic quotas and a five-year minimum occupation period.

As they are not built by HDB, the prices are set entirely by the private developers who are in the business to make a profit in the first place.

The prices of flats at Natura Loft at Bishan and The Peak@Toa Payoh have risen by up to 3 per cent, or $20,000. Current prices, which average at $500 psf are only slightly lower than prices of completed mass market condominiums in the suburbs such as Orchid Park condominium and the Seletaris in Sembawang. Continue reading →

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Posted in HDB, New Launches, Property Price

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