PUBLIC housing is not a new idea and various versions of it have been tried across the world. However, it must be remembered that it has very rarely been a wholesale success. In many cases, it has created ghettos of poverty and despondency. In others, the relatively rich have 'captured' the projects and benefited from the subsidies. One of the few exceptions is Singapore, where public housing projects...
hdb news
The Housing and Development Board is extending its Revitalisation of Shops (ROS) Scheme - introduced in 2007 - to even more heartland retailers. Announcing the extension, Senior Minister of State for National Development, Grace Fu, said the extension of the scheme will involve 35 sites with an estimated budget of S$6 million. Thirty-four sites with more than 3,000 shops have already benefited from S$17...
Some 32,000 flat owners have registered their subletting of rooms with HDB as of end June. HDB has also issued a reminder to those whose tenancies started before February, that their six months grace period for registration will end at the end of this month. Those who sublet from February 1 are required to register with HDB within seven days from the start date of the subletting. Flat owners are also...
The HDB Build-to-Order (BTO) project in Punggol, Waterway Terraces, is proving a big draw for home buyers. With hours to go before applications close, some 5,422 home buyers have indicated their interest to own one of the five-room units available. That's close to 18 times the number of such units on offer. Demand was also high for the four-room units. Close to 6,900 applications have been received so...
Members of the public can watch the National Day fireworks from the 50th storey skybridge of the Pinnacle @ Duxton. Registration for the balloting of tickets began Monday. As of Monday afternoon, 237 applications have been registered for the 100 spots available. The skybridge can hold up to 1,000 people. 90 per cent of the allocated spots will be set aside for residents of the Pinnacle. Another...
Golden Jasmine boasts wide range of facilities The studio apartments in Bishan, Golden Jasmine, boasts a service centre to tend to the needs of its elderly residents - the first of its kind here. Among the facilities for residents are health talks, games as well as a physiotherapy and a traditional Chinese medicine clinic. Service centre staff will also be on hand to respond to emergency calls by...
The sky seems to be the limit when it comes to coughing up cash for a resale HDB flat. A 1,860sqf, 24th-floor HDB maisonette at Bishan Street 24 was put up for sale in March. The asking price? A jaw-dropping $950,000, which meant a whopping $220,000 cash premium on top of its valuation of about $730,000. The potential buyer hit a snag with his bank loan application, but the transaction eventually went...
Some 20 shopowners in a Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) are unhappy with the compensation offered by the Housing and Development Board to move to new premises. HDB has now extended the deadline for the shopowners in Bukit Merah View to accept replacement units. The affected shops are at Block 113 and 114 Bukit Merah View. HDB had offered them between S$486,000 and S$780,000 in compensation....
The "Waterway Terraces" at Punggol have been making waves in the property circle, with 5-room units oversubscribed by 12 times. The Build-to-Order project, which houses 1,072 units, opened for applications on June 30. As of Tuesday evening, the 5-room units saw 12 times the number of applicants. The smaller units are also favoured, with 4-room units in demand at a ratio of 9 applicants to 1 unit. With...
Prices of resale HDB flats went up for the fifth consecutive quarter to surpass the 1996 peak by nearly 18%. HDB's flash estimate for the second quarter showed the Resale Price Index (RPI) rise 3.8% on-quarter to 160.9, surpassing the 1996 peak of 136.9 points. Some analysts said the second quarter tends to see the strongest activity as many home buyers leave their flat purchases till after the Lunar New...