HDB resale prices rose slightly by 0.3 per cent in March compared to February, according to a flash report by the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX). The increase is led by smaller flats -- 3-room flats rose 0.5 per cent and 4-room flats rose by 0.8 per cent. But prices of bigger flats -- both 5-room and executive flats -- continued to soften by 0.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. On a...
hdb news
Singapore home prices fell in the first quarter of this year from the last three months of 2013. This is according to flash estimates released Tuesday by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It is the third straight quarter of decline for HDB resale prices. The numbers show a 1.5-per cent decline from the last quarter of 2013. There was also a...
The demand for the second batch of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats launched this year has dropped, compared to the previous batch. But analysts Channel NewsAsia spoke to said the housing needs of some groups are still not being met. The exercise will close at midnight on Tuesday. There were 4.1 applicants vying for each unit in January's BTO exercise. But for the exercise this month, the number is at...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has launched a $500,000 fund to help transform ideas that seek to improve HDB living into reality. Budding inventors will be able to tap on the Cool Ideas Fund to develop prototypes for test-bedding in HDB flats. National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced this at the second Cool Ideas for Better HDB Living exhibition on Saturday. The fund will be...
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched four Build-To-Order (BTO) projects on Wednesday, offering 3,497 new flats in the non-mature towns of Sembawang, Sengkang and Yishun. The new flats comprise 2-room to 5-room flats, and Three-Generation (3Gen) flats. In a statement on Wednesday, HDB said the new flats are meant to meet the diverse housing needs of first-time buyers, second-timers,...
On Monday, a piece of Singapore’s public housing story was consigned to the annals of history after National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament that buyers and sellers of Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats must agree on a price before seeking an official valuation for the purpose of applying for an HDB housing loan. Cash-over-valuation (COV) — the difference between...
To reduce the focus on Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) in negotiations during the sale of a flat, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will only accept valuation requests from resale flat buyers after they have been granted an Option to Purchase by flat sellers. National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who announced this change in Parliament on Monday, said this will restore the original intention of...
The government is seriously studying the reverse mortgage scheme as an additional option to help the elderly in Singapore monetise their flat. Under a reverse mortgage, the owner retains the full lease of his flat but takes a loan against it as collateral. The owner then repays the loan with accumulated interest upon termination, or death, usually with sales proceeds from the flat. The idea of a...
The overall median Cash-Over-Valuation for HDB resale flats fell to zero in February, according to latest data from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange. It is the lowest median since the Singapore Real Estate Exchange began collecting records in 2006. It was $5,000 in December 2013 and $3,000 a month later, finally hitting the zero mark in February 2014. Nearly half of 26 estates across Singapore...
The first HDB flats under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) have been put on the resale market, after reaching the minimum occupancy period of five years. Some flat owners are asking for as much as 60 per cent more than what they paid five years ago. The Premiere on Tampines Avenue 6 was the first HDB flat project designed, built and sold by a private developer. 90 per cent of the...