Khaw Boon Wan announced a new policy tweak for the purchase of resale flats today (27 aug).
The change, with immediate effect, will force new Singapore PRs to have to wait 3 years before being able to buy a resale flat. In the past, PRs were able to buy resale flats as soon as they became a PR.
According to statistics released by Khaw Boon Wan, there are currently around 51 000 HDB flats owned by PRs (or 6% of all HDBs).
He also shared that this year, there were 130 flats sold by PRs within 3 years of their purchase, with another 320 sold within 4 years of purchase. A further 490 were sold by PRs within 5 years of their purchase.
That means that at least 940 PRs had bought a HDB flat for a relatively short-term stay. It is unknown how many of these upgraded to private or other HDB flats, but it is likley that some of them 'cashed in' and could have left with the profits.
This is a welcome change made by the Minister which will hopefully help to control the price of resale flats. It is also an indication that Khaw admits that the old system had flaws which needed to be addressed.
The impact that this new policy will have is unknown as not many details were shared by the Minister but it is a good step to ensure that HDB prices can be kept in check.
Previously, the Minister had said that he did not have a lot of control over the price of resale flats as it was up to the open market, but thankfully, he has realised that he can actually do something about it.
Nevertheless, we should give credit to the PAP government on listening to the voices of Singaporeans and taking a step forward in stabilizing the property market as well as giving priority to Singaporeans.
However, some Singaporeans say that this measure is taken too late already:
Ref:therealsingapore
New measures target HDB market
Singapore's Housing & Development Board (HDB) has introduced four additional measures to help middle-income Singaporeans afford their first home, low-income families upgrade to larger flats and to facilitate mutual care and support for multi-generation families. Moreover, it has introduced two measures to further stabilise the HDB resale market.Aimed at ensuring greater financial prudence and to discourage speculation, the maximum tenure for HDB housing loans has been reduced from 30 years to 25 years. Borrowers are now only allowed to use 30 percent of their monthly income to service their HDB loan. Previously the cap was set at 35 percent.The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has also introduced similar measures for HDB borrowers.Singapore permanent residents (PRs) have also been targeted by measures which will see newly-minted PRs having to wait three years before they are able to purchase a resale HDB property. Previously, they were able to buy a resale HDB property immediately after obtaining their PR status.HDB will also introduce a new type of Three-Generation (3Gen) flat to cater to multi-generation families living under one roof. These flats will feature four-bedrooms and three-bathrooms (two en-suites), with an internal floor area of about 115 sq m. To be eligible for 3Gen flats, applicants must form a multi-generation family comprising at least a married/courting couple and their parent(s). To ensure that these purpose-built 3Gen flats serve the target group, subletting of room(s) will not be allowed during the five-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). After fulfilling the MOP, these 3Gen flats can only be resold in the open market to other eligible multi-generation families. The first project with about 80 units of 3Gen flats will be launched in Yishun in the September 2013 BTO exercise. HDB has said it will monitor the response and calibrate the supply of 3Gen flats accordingly.A press release detailing the new measures can be viewed at http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10296p.nsf/PressReleases/2311677DFDF53AC248257BD40032F6A4?OpenDocumentComments and reaction to these latest measures from industry experts and analysts will appear on PropertyGuru on Wednesday. Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories
http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyResaleFlatEligibilitytobuy
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