Tag Archives: HDB

DBSS land sales suspended, under review

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Jul 5, 2011 – PropertyGuru.com.sg
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The government has suspended future land sales under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), pending its review, according to National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

“We are reviewing (the) DBSS scheme. Meanwhile, I have suspended future DBSS land sales,” said Khaw on his Facebook page.

“However, a few DBSS land sites sold last year, like the Centrale 8 site, will launch their sales in next few months,” he said. “These are old tenders beyond my control.”

He noted that the Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) are reviewing the scheme, during which the “HDB will not proceed with the sale of the Bendemeer Road site originally scheduled in 1H 2011.”

Since 2005, 13 sites have been sold to private developers under the scheme, which aims to provide flat buyers better value-for-money, as well as offer further improvement in building and design. Under the scheme, developers tender for land sites and have flexibility in designing, selling, and pricing the flats.

“The DBSS did play two functions then: number one, to cater to the sandwich class — those people whose income were above S$8,000 and did not qualify for BTO (build to order) flats,” said Mohamed Ismail, Chief Executive of Propnex.

Secondly, “it allowed, during 2005 — when the economy was not doing well — the developers an opportunity to build homes, with better design as well as architectural initiative being thrown in.”

DBSS flats comprise less than one percent of the entire HDB flat supply. However, they came under fire recently after Sim Lian Group, the developer of the Central 8 DBSS project, set an asking price of around S$880,000 for five-room flats in the project.

“But today, six years later, I think the climate and the background have totally changed,” noted Ismail.

Analysts pointed out that DBSS flats may not be relevant today, as the government’s current policy is to provide affordable housing to the public.

To contact the journalist, you may send your message to editor@propertyguru.com.sg  

Property cooling measures taking effect, says PropNex CEO

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Jul 4, 2011 – PropertyGuru.com.sg
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The government’s anti-speculative measures are now taking effect in the property market, as the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) Resale Price Index (RPI) edged up 2.9 percent to 179.9 in the second quarter, up from the 1.6 percent increase over the same period last year.

“Buyers who took 1Q11 to understand the cooling measures announced on 13 January 2011, especially the lower 60 percent Loan-To-Value ratio and revised Minimum Occupation Periods, have come back to buy on the resale market,” said Mohamed Ismail, Chief Executive of PropNex.

“However, there are still many owners who, due to the cooling measures, are reluctant to move or sell their flat, resulting in a supply crunch and driving median resale prices as well as COV levels up.”

While average resale prices rose 2.6 percent quarter-on-quarter to 5.3 percent in the second quarter across various types of flats, the higher-than-anticipated two to three percent increase in median cash-over-valuation (COV) levels surged by 40 to 50 percent quarter-on-quarter, to hit an overall S$32,000 for the second quarter of 2011.

“Although the current levels of S$28,000 to S$45,000 COV are not sustainable in the long run, I expect the momentum of the increase to see overall median COV reaching around S$35,000 in 3Q11, before dropping back to an overall median COV of around S$32,000 for 4Q11,” noted Ismail.

He said that one reason would be that the introduction of even more new flats, comprising Build-to-Order (BTO), Design, Build & Sell Scheme (DBSS) and Executive Condominiums (EC), will have a cooling effect on the resale market as more young couples turn from resale flats with high COVs to a wider range of new flats at lower prices.

“Another reason would be the launch of more mass market projects in the next two quarters, alleviating some of the demand on the HDB resale market, especially for the larger flats in pricier estates,” he said.

“We can even expect to see COV levels continue to decline further into 2012 if the government continues to provide new supplies of public housing at the current brisk rate.”

However, Ismail was cautious about linking the current price movements to Minister Khaw’s recent policy changes, as it is still too early for those announcements to have had any noticeable effect.

Meanwhile, HDB said it is on track to offer BTO flats by September this year, as well as launch another 3,000 BTO flats in the fourth quarter.

“To further enhance the supply for 3rd Quarter 2011, HDB plans to launch 2,000 flats under a Sale of Balance Flats Exercise scheduled in Aug 2011. This exercise will offer some flats in the mature estates,” said HDB, adding that “information about the locations and flat types will be made available at the point of launch.”

To contact the journalist, you may send your message to editor@propertyguru.com.sg