The debate over cash-over-valuations, or COVs, for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats continues. This week, the body representing Singapore's property valuers called for the removal of all official data on cash premiums paid for HDB resale flats. The Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) said it supported National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan's decision to cease the release of...
Cash-over-valuation
Supporting National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan's decision to stop releasing the median cash-over-valuation (COV) data, the industry body representing property valuers here has urged the authorities to go a step further and "discourage" the practice of paying COV. The Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) cautioned yesterday - in a statement from its president (valuation and general...
Several homeowners are banking on the continued demand for resale flats by asking for higher cash-over-valuation (COV), according to an ECG Property expert. However, with the raising of the income ceiling for HDB flats and executive condominiums (ECs), he hopes high prices taper off. On 14 August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced during his National day Rally speech that the HDB income ceiling...
High cash-over-valuation (COV) prices paid by Housing and Development Board flat buyers are a concern, acknowledged National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, as they make resale flats less accessible to buyers who need flats urgently. But the way to deal with the situation "is not to manage or fix COVs", he feels, as "the underlying cause is high demand, caused by excess liquidity and market sentiments,...
Prices of resale HDB flats continued to rise in the fourth quarter of last year, bringing the full-year increase to 8.2 per cent. Statistics from HDB also showed that the median cash premium paid by home buyers doubled quarter-on-quarter. But analysts said the market may be approaching a limit. 93 per cent of resale transactions in the 4th quarter of last year were above valuation and the cash premium...
Housing analysts said it is a sellers' market right now, with resale flats being a hot commodity lately. But the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has urged buyers to exercise caution when paying high cash premiums, and to do their homework to determine if a house is truly worth its asking price. A 4-room flat in Bishan was recently put up for sale. It was valued at S$460,000 by an independent valuer...
More choice for home-buyers HAD you $20,000 in cash to pay for the Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) component of a resale 4-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat, you would have better bargaining power now than in the last quarter of 2007. Back then, you might just have been able to afford such a flat in far-flung areas such as Bukit Panjang, Chua Chu Kang, Jurong or Woodlands. But between April and...