Saturday, September 30, 2006
[RealEdge] TodayOnline : Stock of unsold new flats shrinks
 This story was printed from TODAYonline | |
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| Stock of unsold new flats shrinks Tightening supply and building to order pays off for HDB Weekend ? September 30, 2006 Lee U-Wen u-wen@newstoday. The number of unsold flats in Singapore has dipped to 6,000, from as many as 17,500 in January 2002. This is due to "a tightening of supply" from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the building of flats according to demand. Looking ahead, the HDB has committed itself to building and selling more new flats this financial year. HDB chief executive Tay Kim Poh said recent efforts to reduce the supply of new flats have been paying off, with the demand from homebuyers starting to build up again. "The unsold flats were quite a big problem for us. Now our unsold stock stands at 6,000, and these are mostly the larger flats, the five-room and executive ones," he said, after releasing the HDB's annual report card to the media. Over the past few years, the HDB has been saddled with unsold flats, mostly in the neighbourhoods of Jurong West, Sengkang, Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang, due to a legacy of overbuilding and a sharp drop in demand during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. No exact figures were given on the new flats that will be built. A total of 4,378 were built between April last year and March this year. Mr Tay said the focus will remain on smaller flats, such as the two- and three-roomers and studios. Many new flats will be constructed on a build-to-order (BTO) basis. The HDB will put about 3,000 on sale this year, and another 3,000 to 4,000 next year in the Sengkang and Punggol areas. "These two areas will be our focus for next year, to develop the catchment there so we can develop the town centres," said Mr Tay. The demand for two-room flats is high among lower-income families, who take home $2,000 or less a month. A BTO project to build 100 two-room flats in Jurong West was twice oversubscribed, while a batch of 86 in Sengkang had an application rate of more than triple the supply. Studio apartments are highly popular among the elderly, who want to sell their flat and move to a smaller, cheaper one. A BTO studios project in Bishan is already three times oversubscribed, though the application deadline is not until next Thursday. The HDB will provide more four-room flats, as stock is declining and demand is gradually rising. There will be no new executive flats for the "foreseeable future", said Mr Tay. The BTO scheme was first launched in April 2001 due to changing demand patterns for new flats. Construction begins only when the majority of flats in a project ? usually about 70 per cent ? are taken up. Including the pilot BTO launch, the HDB has successfully introduced 16 sites at various locations in Punggol, Sengkang and near the city. Price-wise, Mr Tay noted the new flats have remained "quite stable" over the past few years but he cannot predict whether they will rise or dip. "We can't really tell. The prices of flats, of course, vary according to size and location, among other factors," he said. | |
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// posted by Shajahan @ 10:27 AM 