Friday, October 28, 2005

HDB launches Design-Build-Sell scheme at Tampines site

SINGAPORE : Singapore's public housing programme is moving into a new phase.

The HDB has announced the first site where the private sector will be allowed to design, build and sell the flats.

It is launching the sale of the site by tender on Friday.

The 21,000 square metre plot of land at Tampines Avenue 6 will be the first to be sold under the pilot project.

The buildings will be restricted to a height of 62 to 64 metres, or about 17 to 18 storeys.

The piece of land is a short walk from the Tampines MRT station and bus interchange.

The successful developer will have four years to complete the project and about 500 flats are expected to be built on the plot.

HDB says the onus will be on the developer to sell the flats; HDB will not buy back any of the unsold flats.

Like flats developed by the HDB, those sold under the design, build and sell scheme come with a 99-year lease and buyers will have to meet the same HDB eligibility conditions.

Lui Tuck Yew, chief executive of HDB, explained, "No fencing off of the neighbourhood. There will also be certain conditions like the minimum occupation period of five years. The ethnic integration policy will be in place and they will have to abide by it. The developer in this case will also have to follow it."

But the HDB chief says he is in no hurry to announce more sites for the scheme at the moment.

Said Mr Lui, "After the launch for sale, we will then sit down, evaluate the project, listen to the feedback from the tenderers, fine tune the scheme if necessary and then decide on the way ahead."

Tender for the Tampines site closes on January 12 next year. - CNA /ct

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// posted by Shajahan @ 10:27 AM

Friday, October 14, 2005

HDB considers more options to clear backlog of unsold flats

SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board is considering more options to try and clear its backlog of 9,000 unsold flats.

Most of these surplus units are in outlying areas like Jurong West, Punggol, Bukit Panjang and Seng Kang.

Some of the measures include engaging property agents to sell the units in the resale market, and improving interior fittings to make the flats more attractive.

The launch of show flats, new marketing activities and walk-in-selection exercises have helped clear about 1,000 unsold flats in the past year.

But with 9,000 flats still unsold, HDB could revisit a successful pilot project conducted in May.

Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew, CEO of HDB, said: "We actually put up 100 of these flats to be available for sale on the resale market, and we have had very good response rate, we have had 98 of those taken up ... putting it on the market to enlarge the pool of eligible buyers, for example the PRs and the singles."

Property agents said the strong sales could be due to the fact that these are new flats at attractive prices, and buyers could renovate them as desired.

There are also fewer restrictions on resale flats such as the five-year minimum occupation period.

Unlike in May where one agency was appointed to sell the flats, HDB says it might get more agents involved this time round.

While many welcomed the move to clear the backlog, industry players warn about possible repercussions.

Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex, said: "On average there are 30,000 transactions in the resale market, per month it is about 2,500, if you talk about 250 put into the market per month, that's about 10 percent, that should be able to be absorb by the market, but the other factor is the pricing.

"If the pricing varies too far away from current resale market, then it will certainly put pressure on the resale market prices and there may be a concern for owners in that particular estate as it got to do with their asset value."

Chris Koh, Director of Dennis Wee Properties, said: "I am hoping that HDB will do this tactfully, not to do it in one big pool of flats coming into the market at one time, also not to tell the public that it's going to be done every quarter or that it will be done five to six times a year, that will definitely affect the market."

HDB is also thinking of extending an option currently available in its Build To Order scheme to unsold flats rolled out on the resale market.

This allows buyers to add optional fittings like flooring and new fixtures, at an extra cost, to make their units more attractive.

Besides monitoring the number of units and pace at which the unsold flats are offered, the HDB will also continue with its Walk-In Selection as the main avenue to get buyers for the surplus stock. -

// posted by Shajahan @ 10:43 AM

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

HDB's Design, Build & Sell Scheme could negatively impact resale flats

HDB's Design, Build and Sell scheme could negatively impact resale flats: property agents HDB's Design, Build and Sell scheme could negatively impact resale flats in the longer run: property agents

SINGAPORE : The new Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) launched by the Housing Development Board (HDB) will have a minimal impact on the HDB resale market initially, according to industry players.

But they say that in the medium to long term, the scheme could draw demand from the resale market.

That is due to the waiver of resale levy, better quality and design expected, and a fresh 99-year land tenure.

The Design, Build and Sell Scheme was implemented early this year.

It was designed to involve the private sector in the development of public housing in order to bring about greater innovation in building and design, and more housing choices.

While a pilot project in Tampines has been earmarked for the scheme, pricing has not been set.

But industry players say fair pricing is between 20% to 25% higher than a resale flat because quality is expected to be better and land tenure is a fresh 99-year lease.

They add that it will have a minimal impact on the HDB resale market initially, but expect the scheme to feature more prominently in future.

"If the DBSS scheme were to become a staple, medium and long term, I think it's going to draw demand from the resale market. It could draw demand from new home buyers who typically would buy their flats from HDB," said Nicholas Mak, director of Knight Frank.

But as for whether home buyers would be drawn towards flats under the Design, Build and Sell scheme, industry players say the resale levy, which is about 25% of the resale value, is a crucial determinant.

"I think the authorities are saying that it's time for the levy to be reviewed. If the levy is reviewed or scrapped altogether, the added advantage of the DBSS scheme will not longer be there," said PropNex's CEO Mohamed Ismail.

On participation by private developers, industry players say smaller developers, especially contractors, will be keen because the capital outlay required is lower.

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// posted by Shajahan @ 3:10 PM

Monday, October 03, 2005

Singapore's Q3 private home prices up 1.1%: URA

SINGAPORE - Singapore's private home prices rose 1.1% quarter-on-quarter in the July-to-September period.

The third-quarter gain follows a 0.5 percent rise in the previous three months, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday.

The URA said that based on flash estimates, its price index of private residential property for the third quarter stood at 116.5 points, up from 115.2 in the April-June period.

The flash estimate is compiled based on transaction prices given in caveats lodged during the first ten weeks of the quarter supplemented by information on the number of new units booked.

The statistics will be updated four weeks later when more data on the caveats lodged and the take-up of new projects are captured. - CNA/ir

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// posted by Shajahan @ 4:08 PM