hdb news

HDB looking at shortening wait for new flats

Buyers of new HDB flats may be able to get their keys more quickly. The Housing & Development Board is looking at how to shorten the wait, from three years to two or two-and-a-half years. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the HDB will consider building new flats before selling them, especially in cases where the subscription rate is high. He also stressed that new HDB flats remain...

More statistics please, HDB

ONE easy way to make Cash Over Valuation (COV) more transparent for all resale flat buyers and sellers is for the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to provide better statistics. Currently, the only statistic given by HDB is the median COV. However, any student of statistics would tell you that a median value without a reported range is almost useless. Perhaps HDB can learn from the three public...

Some COVs turn negative

Rising cash-over-valuations (COV) have been the gripe of home-hunters, but some have gotten lucky in Queenstown. Between January and March, the median COV for executive flats there was a negative $6,000, meaning a buyer paid below valuation - a far cry from the $50,000 median COV for the same flat type in the same area, in the preceding quarter. But the first-quarter median COV for executive flats in Toa...

HDB quarterly resale prices hit new record, but analysts say prices stabilising

HDB resale prices have hit a fresh record in the first quarter of this year rising by 2.8 per cent compared with the previous quarter. But the latest figures show signs of a market that's finally stabilising after months of runaway prices. Some analysts expect demand to continue to rise in the next few months but said cash premiums are unlikely to go much higher than the current median of S$25,000. The...

Subletting transactions grew by 69 per cent

The number of subletting transactions grew by 69 per cent to 6,600 in the first quarter. More HDB flats were also approved for subletting - from 24,300 in the previous quarter to 27,300. HDB attributed the increase to more renewal cases, greater demand and public awareness of need to seek HDB authorisation to sublet entire flats. Subletting cases have spiked since rules were relaxed in 2005, with...

Prices of HDB resale flats continue to climb

Data released by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) showed that its resale price index in the first quarter this year stood at 155. That's an increase of 2.8 per cent over the previous quarter, slightly higher than HDB's preliminary forecast of a 2.7 per cent rise. In the last quarter of 2009, the resale price index came in at a record high of 150.8. Also, the median Cash-Over-Valuation (COV)...

Lift upgrading in opposition wards on track

I REFER to Mr Chan Mia Lee's letter, 'Why the delay in upgrading opposition ward?' (April 8), and would like to highlight that the lift upgrading projects in Potong Pasir and Hougang are on track. Blocks 101 to 109 in Potong Pasir Avenue 1, and Blocks 351, 352, and 354 to 357 in Hougang Avenue 7 were announced for the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) last October. As with all LUP projects, the HDB...

Punggol gets two new HDB projects

ANOTHER 1,429 flats will be up for grabs in fast-developing Punggol after the HDB launched two new build-to-order (BTO) projects yesterday. The developments - Punggol Emerald and Punggol Waves - will deliver 188 studio apartments, 201 three-room units, 609 four-room units and 431 five-room units to eager home buyers. Yesterday's launches are part of a broader HDB plan to launch 12,000 flats in the first...

HDB launches over 1,400 new BTO flats

THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) yesterday launched two new build-to-order (BTO) projects in Punggol, offering a total of 1,429 flats. Both projects will be near the Punggol MRT Station, bus interchange and the future Punggol town centre. Punggol Emerald, at the junction of Punggol Way and Punggol Central, will have 856 standard flats. These consist of 188 studio apartments, 96 three-roomers, 350...

Punggol home for two new BTO projects

Two new Built-To-Order (BTO) projects have been launched in Punggol Town making 1,429 government flats available. In addition, the Housing and Development Board said it will launch another 7,400 BTO flats from May to September 2010, bringing the total number of flats launched in the first three quarters of 2010 to about 12,000. It said the upcoming projects will have a good geographical spread, covering...