What's in a word: Enbloc
The buying and selling of homes hit fever pitch this year as developers snapped up sites sold collectively by home-owners.
On Dec 13, property consultancy CB Richard Ellis reported that 65 residential sites sold enbloc had been picked up for $7.68 billion - more than triple the $1.99 billion last year.
Even privatised HUDC estates got into the act. First, Amberville in Marine Parade, then Waterfront View in Bedok Reservoir Road.
What it spells:
Collective sales not only spell cash, but drama. The sale of Waterfront View is being opposed by homeowner Yeo Loo Keng and his wife, who say it will leave them with a shortfall in their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts. The Strata Titles Board, which oversees such disputes, will rule on their case next month.
The sale of Eng Lok Mansion in Napier Road caused an 80-year-old widow to take on her neighbours.
Retired nurse Chow Ai Hwa argued that the distribution of the sales proceeds was unfair. She added that her late husband's spirit would not know where to find her should she be forced out.
The Strata Titles Board eventually ruled against her.
What's in a word: Scam
Seven property agents were jailed in April for helping flat buyers secure loans with fake employment documents.
In the elaborate scam, shell companies were used to 'employ' buyers, and money pumped into CPF accounts to show regular incomes. More than $1 million in loans were disbursed as a result.
What it spells: The case raised eyebrows because it netted industry veteran Syed Abdullah Alhamid from property agency ERA Singapore.
Other agents jailed between one and nine months each were Mohammed Rusli Abdul Rahman, Tan Boon Yok, Hamidah Yunnan, Tumirah Rahman, Zainon Aran and Richard Yan Hwee Oon.
The scam further sullied an industry marred by rampant cashback deals - to inflate property prices - before a government clampdown in April last year.
What's in a word: Condo
Condominium-like public housing caused a stir this year as private developer Sim Lian Land became the first to design, build, price and sell flats under an experiment by the Housing Board. Called The Premiere-@Tampines, the 616 mostly five-room flats in Tampines Avenue 5 drew close to 6,000 applicants and more than 45,000 people to its showflat and sale office in October.
The draw? Typically condo features - built-in wardrobes, generous balconies and air-conditioning units. The flats were priced from $308,000 to $450,000.
What it spells: The frenzy returned early this month, when hordes queued to get their hands on 120 leftover units after Sim Lian sold the bulk by ballot.
Eager buyers turned up the night before the booking exercise and were given queue numbers. But another queue formed after they left, and these house-hunters got agitated after realising there were people ahead of them.
The queue stretched for more than 150m, and did not disperse even in pouring rain.
What's in a word: Help
Low-income families got relief with the Government's additional housing grants.
The grants, ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, went to low-income families to help them buy their first home.
The building of smaller flats also resumed, with five-room and executive flats being converted into 50sq m, one-bedroom flats - 100 two-room units in Jurong West alone.
Another 80 will be in Sengkang, together with 86 to be built from scratch. These flats attracted more than 250 applicants in August.
Rental flats also made a comeback. The Government committed to carving out about 1,000 one- and two-room units from existing bigger ones in Boon Lay and Woodlands. Another 1,000 will be created in new and mature estates.
What it spells: From March next year, tenants' rent will be raised as their incomes increase over time, to encourage them to buy their own home when they can.
What's in a word: Upgrading
Estate upgrading - a key campaign platform of the People's Action Party during elections - was the buzzword before, during and after the polls in May.
Multi-million-dollar plans outlined improvements ranging from lift upgrading, riverfront makeovers in Sungei Whampoa to a sports complex in Sengkang. What it spells: Opposition politician Chiam See Tong, the incumbent MP in Potong Pasir, put up his own proposal against PAP challenger Sitoh Yi Pin's $80-million plan.
When Mr Chiam won another term, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the Government will upgrade lifts in opposition wards by its self-imposed deadline of 2015 - although PAP wards will come first. This deadline has since been moved forward by one year, to 2014.
New lift upgrading methods have made it possible for more blocks to be upgraded within the Government's budget of $30,000 per benefiting household.
