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...
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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...
The Ministry of National Development is unlikely to make any major policy moves with regard to housing in its budget this year. But National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said his ministry will be exploring ideas to expand the Lease Buyback Scheme, which helps the elderly monetise their flats. More help for second-time home buyers, like divorcees with children and single parents, is also likely...
A land site for an executive condominium (EC) development at Anchorvale Crescent has attracted 12 bids at the close of tender on Thursday. According to the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Phoenix Real Estate submitted the highest bid of S$192.89 million, which is 1 per cent higher than the second top bid of S$191 million from MCL Land. Phoenix Real Estate is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGX...
The first batch of 3Gen flats launched in Yishun last September has had a strong reception, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on his blog on Friday. About 94 per cent (79 out of 84) of these flats, which Mr Khaw said are designed to facilitate extended family togetherness, have been booked. Of the 79 families who booked these flats, 56 were first-time HDB buyers and 23...
Sales for executive condominiums (EC) slowed following new rules such as tighter loan rules for those buying EC units. Some agents said EC units, which are typically sold out in a year, may now need another year to hit 100 per cent sales. The Skypark Residences project released in November last year has sold only 60 per cent of its units so far. Another development, Waterwoods, launched in the...
The median cash-over-valuation (COV) for Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale flats fell to S$3,000 in January, matching the previous low in June 2009 during the global financial crisis. Analysts Channel NewsAsia spoke to expect the COV to fall further, with 24,300 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats slated to be launched this year. According to data from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX), the...