A legislative amendment to allow the Housing and Development Board to provide technical and consultancy services internationally drew concern from two Members of Parliament yesterday. They felt the HDB was deviating from its core mission of providing affordable housing for Singaporeans. If this happens, the top brass would focus on generating income, which would pay them "fat bonuses", rather than...
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The government has plugged loopholes in the law to prevent moneylenders from egging homeowners to use HDB flats as collaterals for any debt other than as mortgage for the purpose of financing the purchase of the flat. Changes to the Housing and Development Bill were passed on Monday under a "certificate of urgency", which means it was read and passed in one Parliamentary sitting. There has been an...
3,200 applicants for Boon Lay Grove Built-to-Order (BTO) flats are from first-timer households. These are households which have never bought a flat with housing subsidies - the priority group that BTO sale exercises seek to cater for. Among them, 53 per cent have not applied for any BTO projects in non-mature estates prior to Boon Lay Grove. Also, 12 per cent are third-time applicants while nine per...
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...
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...