Arcachon
17-11-21, 10:15
Another trend that worried the government was that of some flat buyers’ willingness to overpay for older
flats, often in anticipation of SERS coming to their neighbourhood. This speculation over SERS seemed to
persist despite the government’s emphasis on the very selective nature of the scheme. Some existing flat
owners had also come to expect SERS as a solution to their flats’ decaying lease. The remarks in 2017 by the
National Development Minister triggered a rethink about the worth of older flats. Property agents were
reporting dwindling interest in flats older than 40 years. In three mature estates, Queenstown, Toa Payoh
and Ang Mo Kio, there was a widening gap between average resale prices of older flats and units under 40
years old (Annex 8).
72 Moreover, older properties faced tougher financing conditions in terms of housing
loans and restrictions on the use of CPF funds. For example, the use of CPF monies to purchase properties
with leases of less than 60 years was allowed only if the remaining lease would last up until the property
owner turned 80 years old; the use of CPF monies to purchase properties with less than 30 years left on their
lease was prohibited.73 Banks were also hesitant to finance properties with less than 30 years lease, or would
only offer loans on much shorter tenures. The experience of a three-room Bukit Merah HDB flat with less
than 60 years left on its lease was illustrative:
Madam Chai received several offers when she listed her three-room Bukit Merah Housing Board flat
for sale in January last year, after her mother died. The flat had 54 years left on its 99-year lease and
the administrative clerk was asking for $340,000 – about what three-room flats in the area were
commanding then. But two months later, the offers started drying up. Madam Chai, 52, said buyers
told her they were having second thoughts about buying her 45-year-old flat.74
In fact, by May 2018, the minister noted that owners of older HDB flats had become "overly anxious" about
the value of their flats in the resale market and reassured the public that older flats still had value that could
be unlocked for retirement.
https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/docs/default-source/case-studies/singapore-s-public-housing-renewal-(sers).pdf?sfvrsn=aefb7a0a_2
flats, often in anticipation of SERS coming to their neighbourhood. This speculation over SERS seemed to
persist despite the government’s emphasis on the very selective nature of the scheme. Some existing flat
owners had also come to expect SERS as a solution to their flats’ decaying lease. The remarks in 2017 by the
National Development Minister triggered a rethink about the worth of older flats. Property agents were
reporting dwindling interest in flats older than 40 years. In three mature estates, Queenstown, Toa Payoh
and Ang Mo Kio, there was a widening gap between average resale prices of older flats and units under 40
years old (Annex 8).
72 Moreover, older properties faced tougher financing conditions in terms of housing
loans and restrictions on the use of CPF funds. For example, the use of CPF monies to purchase properties
with leases of less than 60 years was allowed only if the remaining lease would last up until the property
owner turned 80 years old; the use of CPF monies to purchase properties with less than 30 years left on their
lease was prohibited.73 Banks were also hesitant to finance properties with less than 30 years lease, or would
only offer loans on much shorter tenures. The experience of a three-room Bukit Merah HDB flat with less
than 60 years left on its lease was illustrative:
Madam Chai received several offers when she listed her three-room Bukit Merah Housing Board flat
for sale in January last year, after her mother died. The flat had 54 years left on its 99-year lease and
the administrative clerk was asking for $340,000 – about what three-room flats in the area were
commanding then. But two months later, the offers started drying up. Madam Chai, 52, said buyers
told her they were having second thoughts about buying her 45-year-old flat.74
In fact, by May 2018, the minister noted that owners of older HDB flats had become "overly anxious" about
the value of their flats in the resale market and reassured the public that older flats still had value that could
be unlocked for retirement.
https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/docs/default-source/case-studies/singapore-s-public-housing-renewal-(sers).pdf?sfvrsn=aefb7a0a_2