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25-02-12, 15:31
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,478587-1329767940,00.html?
Published February 20, 2012
Resale activity in older housing estates may rise
By CONRAD TAN
(SINGAPORE) Resale activity in public housing estates with many elderly homeowners is set to increase after the Government introduced a $20,000 bonus for older Singaporeans who sell their flats and buy three-room or smaller flats.
The measure to help older Singaporeans unlock the value of their Housing and Development Board flats 'is likely to impact the resale activity in the public housing market favouring the older central districts such as Bukit Merah and Queenstown, given the higher proportion of senior households and recent property price trends', said Chua Yang Liang, head of research for South-east Asia at property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). He estimates that up to 5 per cent of existing HDB households may take advantage of the new scheme, potentially giving a small boost to the resale prices of three-room or smaller HDB flats.
Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh and Queenstown could see more resale activity as a result of the new scheme, based on an analysis of the premium gap between five-room and three-room flats, and four-room and three-room flats, respectively, in each HDB town, as well as the number of senior households in the towns, JLL said.
Overall, however, 'the Budget is likely to have a limited impact on the property market, given recent market trends and the existing government policies in place', it added.
The Government's aim to double the number of housing units within 400 metres of MRT stations to 400,000 in a decade would require an increase in government land sales close to MRT stations over the next 10 years, JLL said. Those are likely to be weighted more towards public housing developments rather than private property, given the Government's emphasis on building an inclusive society, it added. 'On the development front, we should see a shift in developers' strategy as there could be more public housing sites being released nearer train stations over the course of the next decade.' Dr Chua said.
Published February 20, 2012
Resale activity in older housing estates may rise
By CONRAD TAN
(SINGAPORE) Resale activity in public housing estates with many elderly homeowners is set to increase after the Government introduced a $20,000 bonus for older Singaporeans who sell their flats and buy three-room or smaller flats.
The measure to help older Singaporeans unlock the value of their Housing and Development Board flats 'is likely to impact the resale activity in the public housing market favouring the older central districts such as Bukit Merah and Queenstown, given the higher proportion of senior households and recent property price trends', said Chua Yang Liang, head of research for South-east Asia at property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). He estimates that up to 5 per cent of existing HDB households may take advantage of the new scheme, potentially giving a small boost to the resale prices of three-room or smaller HDB flats.
Bukit Merah, Toa Payoh and Queenstown could see more resale activity as a result of the new scheme, based on an analysis of the premium gap between five-room and three-room flats, and four-room and three-room flats, respectively, in each HDB town, as well as the number of senior households in the towns, JLL said.
Overall, however, 'the Budget is likely to have a limited impact on the property market, given recent market trends and the existing government policies in place', it added.
The Government's aim to double the number of housing units within 400 metres of MRT stations to 400,000 in a decade would require an increase in government land sales close to MRT stations over the next 10 years, JLL said. Those are likely to be weighted more towards public housing developments rather than private property, given the Government's emphasis on building an inclusive society, it added. 'On the development front, we should see a shift in developers' strategy as there could be more public housing sites being released nearer train stations over the course of the next decade.' Dr Chua said.