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Housing blues hit Singaporeans
By Khalil AdisAug 13, 2010
http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/blog/tag/housing-blues-hit-singaporeans
Recently, I was tasked to write a story on public housing in Singapore in Property Buyer magazine, focusing on the affordability issue.
As you may be aware, prices of resale flats are at its record high right now.
Data from the Housing Development Board (HDB) shows that the Resale Price Index (RPI) had increased by 4.1 percent to reach 161.3 points in the second quarter.
This means HDB resale prices are now at its highest point since the HDB began tracking data on the RPI since the first quarter of 1994.
Prices of HDB resale flats had been increasing steadily from the second quarter of 2003.
If you compare that period till the second quarter of 2010, prices of HDB resale flats have gone up by a whopping 60 percent.
Build-to-Order (BTO) flats are then priced 20 percent below resale flats as a form of “subsidy”.
Meanwhile, the median Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) levels rose by a whopping 20 percent to reach $30,000 in the second quarter - some $5,000 jump from the first quarter.
I spoke to a few property agents on how this has affected Singaporeans.
It seems the most affected by the price increase are low-income families.
In fact, almost all my interviewees are with young couples who are earning below $1,500 who in the end had to rent a flat directly from the HDB.
One is a polytechnic diploma holder who informed that HDB officers said his family can rent for up to two years, after which their rent will increase.
Interestingly, while doing my research, I came across a blog by a Malaysian teaching Malaysian PRs on how to make money from the HDB resale market.
The blog went on to say that Malaysian PRs have a distinct advantage over Singaporeans by buying resale flats as they can sell or rent out their flats after three years.
The blog posting shows that it is quite apparent that PRs are taking advantage of their eligibility to buy resale flats to jack up prices, causing undue hardship to young couples and singles.
The blog then went on to blatantly say that Malaysian PRs can reap a handsome profit when they decide to sell off their flats and go back to Malaysia.
The HDB has always maintained that public flats are for occupation and not for investments.
However, the situation on the ground is quite different altogether.
There are god knows how many other Singaporean families suffering in silence due to HDB’s policy.
Which begs the question, is the HDB listening?
:o
:p
:(
By Khalil AdisAug 13, 2010
http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/blog/tag/housing-blues-hit-singaporeans
Recently, I was tasked to write a story on public housing in Singapore in Property Buyer magazine, focusing on the affordability issue.
As you may be aware, prices of resale flats are at its record high right now.
Data from the Housing Development Board (HDB) shows that the Resale Price Index (RPI) had increased by 4.1 percent to reach 161.3 points in the second quarter.
This means HDB resale prices are now at its highest point since the HDB began tracking data on the RPI since the first quarter of 1994.
Prices of HDB resale flats had been increasing steadily from the second quarter of 2003.
If you compare that period till the second quarter of 2010, prices of HDB resale flats have gone up by a whopping 60 percent.
Build-to-Order (BTO) flats are then priced 20 percent below resale flats as a form of “subsidy”.
Meanwhile, the median Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) levels rose by a whopping 20 percent to reach $30,000 in the second quarter - some $5,000 jump from the first quarter.
I spoke to a few property agents on how this has affected Singaporeans.
It seems the most affected by the price increase are low-income families.
In fact, almost all my interviewees are with young couples who are earning below $1,500 who in the end had to rent a flat directly from the HDB.
One is a polytechnic diploma holder who informed that HDB officers said his family can rent for up to two years, after which their rent will increase.
Interestingly, while doing my research, I came across a blog by a Malaysian teaching Malaysian PRs on how to make money from the HDB resale market.
The blog went on to say that Malaysian PRs have a distinct advantage over Singaporeans by buying resale flats as they can sell or rent out their flats after three years.
The blog posting shows that it is quite apparent that PRs are taking advantage of their eligibility to buy resale flats to jack up prices, causing undue hardship to young couples and singles.
The blog then went on to blatantly say that Malaysian PRs can reap a handsome profit when they decide to sell off their flats and go back to Malaysia.
The HDB has always maintained that public flats are for occupation and not for investments.
However, the situation on the ground is quite different altogether.
There are god knows how many other Singaporean families suffering in silence due to HDB’s policy.
Which begs the question, is the HDB listening?
:o:p:(
