The Government is planning a new scheme which will allow more HDB households to benefit from redevelopment before the 99-year leases on their flats expire, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Sunday (Aug 19). The Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) is part of a “long-term plan” to allow the Government to progressively redevelop precincts, Mr Lee said in his National Day Rally speech....

Another 230,000 flats will be upgraded as the Government looks to extend the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) to HDB blocks built in the years up to 1997, announced Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (Aug 19). The expanded programme will also include a new component dubbed HIP II, which will give all HDB flats a second round of upgrading when they reach the 60 to 70-year mark. These were...

The ongoing discussions surrounding Singapore’s public housing shelf life were tackled by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his National Day Rally speech on Sunday (Aug 19). Over 80 per cent of the population reside in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats - of which an increasing number are nearing the halfway mark of their 99-year leases, sparking both public and parliamentary questions...

The Government will need to tread carefully in allowing buyers to use more of their Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings to buy older flats, as there could be a risk of them over-dipping into their retirement savings parked under the national social security savings scheme, some analysts said in response to the latest Housing and Development Board (HDB) announcements. Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for...

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said in a blog post on Monday that his ministry is looking into how to let buyers of shorter-lease flats use more of their CPF funds for their purchase, without compromising their retirement savings. Improving the liquidity of the resale market for older flats, he said, would facilitate an elderly resident’s move to a smaller unit. Currently, CPF...

OrangeTee & Tie has joined forces with players such as 99.co, Carousell and UOB to launch an app exclusively for its agents to manage property listings across multiple portals, via a single platform. Through Agent App, property agents can create new listings, market their properties, as well as manage and repost existing listings on 99.co, EdgeProp, Carousell and SRX. OrangeTee said that the feature,...

Cheng Hoe House, a group of eight freehold townhouses, has been launched for collective sale by tender on Monday for S$28 million, marketer Teakhwa Real Estate said. The reserve price reflects a land rate of S$1,082.9 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), including a development charge of about S$6.1 million. Teakhwa Real Estate said the land price would be reduced to S$1,052.5 psf if the 10 per...

The housing initiatives announced at the National Day Rally — particularly the new Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (Vers) — will go some way to reassure homeowners whose leases are running down, said some analysts interviewed by TODAY. Nevertheless, the devil is in the details, and whether the scheme will provide a viable solution to the hotly-debated lease decay issue remains to be seen, they...

At 8 St Thomas, sophistication and elegance sit in perfect harmony. Artful geometric lines and forms dance in rhythm on the facades of magnificent twin towers, accentuating a quality home with exquisite style. ​ The 2 blocks of 35-storey consists of 250-units. It offers a range of 1, 2 and 3, 4-bedroom, 4-bedroom Dual Key units and 2 penthouses with full condominium facilities including a tennis court,...

Wangz Hotel, the distinctive barrel-shaped aluminium-clad building at the corner of Outram and Tiong Bahru roads, is being sold for S$46 million. This works out to S$1.12 million per room for the six-storey freehold boutique 41-room hotel. It opened in late 2009. The hotel is being sold by Glastech Pte Ltd, controlled by Wang Kwang Yu, his wife Kwee Lee Chien (daughter of Pontiac Land Group founder...