First Yishun DBSS project to be launched after CNY

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...23940,00.html?

Published November 17, 2010

First Yishun DBSS project to be launched after CNY

By KAREN NG


ADORA Green, for which a groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday, will be the first design, build and sell project in Yishun under the Housing & Development Board's DBS Scheme. 'The development will be launched next year after the Chinese New Year season,' said Guthrie SK Land executive director Michael Leong. 'The price of the flats is expected to range from $450-500 per square foot.'

The project, at the junction of Yishun Avenue 11 and Yishun Central, will comprise about 800 apartments. Some 65 per cent will be four-room flats, 15 per cent will be five-room flats and the remaining 20 per cent three-room flats. Sizes range from 67 square metres for a three-room flat, 92 sq m for a four-room flat and 112 sq m for a five-room flat. Costs will be $300,000-400,000 plus for a three-room flat, $400,000-500,000 plus for a four-room flat, and $500,000-600,000 plus for a five-room flat.

Under DBSS, private developers build public housing flats with condo-like finishes. Adora Green will comprise six 16-storey blocks, with recreational facilities such as fitness stations and barbecue pits, as well as commercial facilities such as a mini-mart, shops, an eating house and childcare facilities.

At yesterday's ground-breaking ceremony, Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam said: 'One of these measures was to allow eligible first-time households with a monthly income between $8,000 and $10,000 to buy new DBSS flats with a CPF housing grant of $30,000. This revision will be applicable to DBSS projects launched for public sale after Aug 30, 2010 which includes Adora Green.'

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http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapor...ry_604078.html

Nov 17, 2010

Condo-style flats in Yishun to draw young couples

By Daryl Chin


An artist's impression of Adora Green, which comprises about 800 apartments. It is slated to be launched in the first quarter of next year. -- PHOTO: GUTHRIE SK LAND

PLANS for Yishun's first Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) development were announced yesterday.

Adora Green, which comprises about 800 apartments, was announced at a ground-breaking ceremony attended by developers, prospective buyers and Mr K. Shanmugam, an MP for Sembawang GRC.

The development is slated to be launched in the first quarter of next year, and is likely to be the first DBSS project put up for sale since measures to cool the property market were introduced earlier this year.

Of the units available, an estimated 520 will be four-room flats of 990 sq ft each, 160 three-room units of 721 sq ft, and 120 five-roomers of 1,205 sq ft each.

Under DBSS, the developer tenders for the land and can exercise flexibility in pricing and design while preserving key elements of public housing, such as open access to common properties.

Guthrie SK Land, which won the bid at $148.89million for the 27,474 sq m site, will be selling the flats with a 99-year lease.

The units will likely be priced between $450 and $500 per sq ft (psf), said Mr Michael Leong, director of Guthrie SK Land, adding that some costs have yet to be factored in.

The Peak@Toa Payoh, the last DBSS project, fetched up to $600 psf when it was launched in April this year.

Speaking at the event, Mr Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Home Affairs and Law, said the project was significant for Yishun, a middle-aged town selected by the Housing Board in 2007 to enjoy a slew of new upgrading programmes.

He said Adora Green would attract younger couples because of Yishun's new facilities - such as the Heritage Garden and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital - and the recent relaxing of housing rules.

Eligible first-timer households with a monthly income of between $8,000 and $10,000 - the 'sandwich class' - can now buy new DBSS flats with Central Provident Fund housing grants of $30,000. The provision is applicable only to flats launched for public sale after Aug30.

Sandwich-class civil servant John Chan, 31, said he and his wife had been looking for a flat to buy for the past two years. 'We looked at private properties, executive condominiums and resale flats, but they were all out of reach. This project should be affordable,' he said.

But fellow civil servant Jason Tan is worried about competition because his combined household income is less than $8,000. 'With the new rules, you have quite a lot more people competing for the same property,' he said.