14 LIFESTYLE lite MAY 2011

If you’ve been dithering about buying your fi rst HDB fl at, now’s the time to get moving. Look forward to a bigger supply and shorter waiting time. WONG MUN WAI asks industry experts their view.

No place like HOME

“It is comfortable living with my parents, but

nothing beats having your own place and your own privacy.”

Feature

Meet Hamidah Razak. She married last year and would like to start a

family. But she and her husband have no place of their own and live with her parents in a fi ve-room HDB fl at in Bukit Panjang. The couple were successful in balloting for a Built-To-Order in Yishun but they were looking for a four- or fi ve -room unit but only two- or three-room units were available. So, Hamidah and her husband declined to choose a unit.

For her and others in the same position, the choices are limited. Staying with parents, renting a place or buying from the resale market are the main other options (even if the resale market is infl ated). Here’s the good news.

Helping handFresh buyers can look forward to a larger supply of new fl ats, a shorter application process, and a revised income ceiling for three-room fl ats.

Minister for National Development, Mah Bow Tan made the announcements during the Ministry of National Development’s Committee of Supply Debate in Parliament in early March.

In the fi rst half of 2011, 14,000 new Build-to-Order fl ats will be offered. This is comparable to the BTO supply for the whole of 2010. If demand sustains, HDB will offer up to 22,000 BTO fl ats for the entire 2011. This will be the largest annual supply of BTO fl ats in the last decade.

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LIFESTYLE lite MAY 2011 15

“These upcoming BTO projects will be constructed in estates such as Jurong West, Sengkang, Punggol, Sembawang, Hougang,

Tampines and Pasir Ris.”

“Home prices are expected to stabilise or fall by 2-3% in 2011. This provides fi rst time

home buyers ample opportunity to wait

for the prices to fall before making a purchase from the increased supply.”

HDB will also halve the time taken to invite applicants to select their fl ats. Applicants will be informed of their ballot results within three weeks of the launch. Selection of fl ats will start from the fourth week onwards, instead of the previous ninth week. The faster turnaround will enable applicants to know their queue number for the current launch, before deciding whether to apply for the next BTO launch.

“With a quicker selection process and greater supply of BTO fl ats to be offered in 2011, now fi rst timers need not be in a mad rush to purchase a fl at. They can now evaluate their options carefully and buy a fl at within their budget,” wrote Romesh Navaratnarajah, editor of property website, PropertyGuru.

“This (reduced waiting time) is expected to reduce the number of applicants who apply for multiple BTO projects, as they can now gauge more quickly the chances of getting a fl at before the next BTO exercise closes,” wrote Romesh.

The income ceiling has also been revised for buyers wanting to buy three-room BTO fl ats in non-mature estates from $3,000 to $5,000.

The revised income ceiling would provide more low-to-middle-

income households with a wider range of affordable options to choose from. “This also allows them the fl exibility to plan other long-term fi nancial commitments such as childcare expenses and supporting elderly parents,” Romesh wrote.

Just choose oneThe Ministry of National Development is also considering tougher rules by changing the BTO scheme to penalise fi rst time buyers who reject a unit despite being successful during balloting. The point is to stop people who don’t need a fl at immediately from applying indiscriminately.

Under the current rules, applicants who reject a fl at twice will have their fi rst-time privileges suspended for one-year. This means if they apply for a unit in a HDB sales exercise in that time, they will not have those fi rst-time buyer privileges including two chances in the short-listing of applications compared to a second-time buyer who only gets one.

In an interview with Lianhe Wanbao in late January, Minister Mah was asked if the harsher penalties might include extending the one-year period. He replied the Government is still looking into the changes. “The new rules will

fi lter out people who are indecisive and too choosy when it comes to purchasing a home. This will provide genuine home buyers a favourable `queue number’ when waiting for a BTO fl at,” writes Romesh.

But such buyers will have to be sure of their choices. “First time buyers can’t afford to be indecisive,” the editor warns. “They will have to plan better, which is tough especially for young couples who are busy planning their wedding as well as other future plans.” The measures will be announced sometime this year.

Read next month’s issue of Lite for the fi nal part of the article on fi rst time buyers. lite

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