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Thread: 'Balance' flats: Priority for couples with young kids?

  1. #1
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    Oct 2011
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    Default 'Balance' flats: Priority for couples with young kids?

    http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...-kids-20120829

    NATIONAL DAY RALLY: REACTIONS

    'Balance' flats: Priority for couples with young kids?

    That's the prediction of property analysts as the wait would be shorter for such families

    Published on Aug 29, 2012

    By Daryl Chin


    PUBLIC flats that are close to completion could be earmarked by the authorities for couples with young children, property analysts predicted.

    These units, left unsold in previous launches, could figure in changes to housing policy as the Government seeks to raise fertility rates, they added.

    In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Government was looking at a range of measures to help stem declining birth rates. One was to afford "some consideration to giving couples with young kids priority when they book HDB flats".

    PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the target group is likely to be HDB first-timers expecting their first child.

    Giving them priority in "balance" flats, in particular, would be useful as they would have to wait a substantially shorter time before they get their keys, he said.

    Balance flats are those not taken up at previous launches for reasons such as there not being any takers, or the buyer rejected the unit. These flats are either close to completion or have been built.

    On the other hand, those who opt for Build-to-Order (BTO) flats may have to wait more than three years from the time they book the flat to moving in.

    This year, so far, the Housing Board has put up for sale about 17,000 BTO flats and about 4,000 balance flats.

    Mr Ismail said giving couples with young children first dibs on such flats "will not only ease the concerns for such couples but it could also encourage them to have more children earlier".

    Chris International director Chris Koh said that while there are several schemes in place to help home buyers, none has targeted this segment of young couples, or those with young children, directly.

    Currently, up to 95 per cent of the supply of new flats in well- developed towns are reserved for first-timers, or those who have yet to get a housing subsidy. In less-developed towns, up to 85 per cent of flats are reserved for this group.

    In addition, first-timers have twice the chance at the ballot box than second-timers. And they have more chances under the Married Child Priority Scheme - at least four tries - if they live near or with their parents.

    Mr Koh said even more chances could be given to couples with young children to entice them to start bigger families. Another modification could come in the form of adjusting the third-child priority scheme.

    Currently, about 5 per cent of available flats are set aside for families with a third child born in or after 1987. "Perhaps these flats could be set aside for families even if they have just one child," Mr Koh said.

    Such changes might make all the difference to project manager Benson Lee, 28. He and his wife live with his parents and brother in a crowded four-room flat in Ang Mo Kio. Because of space constraints, the couple have postponed having children.

    He said: "Having kids is a serious decision and it would be unfair on them if they don't have the room they need to grow."

    Mr Jeremy Goh, 31, an assistant vice-president at a local bank, said he only had his daughter after he was close to moving into his own five-room flat in Punggol.

    "Taking care of children is not just about diapers and storage space. You also want a roof over your head and peace of mind when starting a family," he said.

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  2. #2
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    Default Singles don't expect same chance as couples

    http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...uples-20120829

    NATIONALDAY RALLY: REACTIONS

    Singles don't expect same chance as couples

    They are happy PM has acknowledged they have few options to own a home

    Published on Aug 29, 2012

    By Rachel Chang


    PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong may have hinted at the National Day Rally that singles will soon be allowed to buy new flats from the Housing Board (HDB) - but singles are not holding their breath.

    While they welcomed the prospect of having access to brand new, subsidised flats and not just being confined to the resale market, they do not expect to be put on a level playing field with married couples.

    "Will we actually get the same chance as couples? Or just delegated the flats that they don't want, or the projects that are undersubscribed?" wondered Mr Heng Chin Chuan, 34.

    The television producer and part-time lecturer lives with his parents. With his $3,500 to $4,000 monthly income, private property is out of his reach, and a resale flat a stretch.

    In fact, observers predict that given the HDB's longstanding goal of using public housing to encourage marriage and child-bearing, the policy change for singles will come with many caveats.

    HSR Property Group special adviser Donald Han said: "Singles may be able to join the queue to buy new flats for the first time, but they will be put at the back of the queue."

    He predicted that singles will be allowed to buy only three- room or smaller flats, and perhaps only in certain areas, such as the less popular non-mature estates.

    There is a precedent: Before 2001, the HDB allowed singles to buy resale flats of only three- room or smaller size, and only in towns outside the central area.

    The minimum age for a single to buy any HDB flat has always been 35. Singles above that age are allowed to buy any resale flat, and those earning $5,000 or less a month are eligible for a cash grant of $15,000 and an HDB loan.

    Singles bought 3,972 HDB resale flats last year, 16.1 per cent of the total.

    SLP International research head Nicholas Mak said it is possible that the HDB will sell new flats to singles at a marked-up price to what couples pay.

    When a couple buys a Build- to-Order (BTO) flat, the discounted price enjoyed is the HDB's subsidy for two Singaporeans. "So if a single can buy at the same price, he or she is enjoying a double subsidy," pointed out Mr Mak.

    He said new HDB flats are still a scarce commodity, with new projects in mature towns still oversubscribed. This may give rise to public backlash over allowing singles access to BTO flats.

    It remains to be seen if the supply of new flats promised by the HDB - 25,000 this year, with 20,000 promised for next year - will be sufficient to accommodate a buyer base that will include singles, said observers.

    That is because it is not clear yet which singles are allowed to join the BTO queue, and what criteria they will be subject to.

    But Mr Liang Eng Hwa, an MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, reckoned the Government must have calculated the supply of flats coming onstream will be sufficient to meet demand from both couples and singles; if not, the policy change would not have been announced.

    Despite uncertainty over what the final policy change will be, singles were happy with PM Lee's acknowledgement that with high resale prices, they have few options for a home of their own.

    "The Government should also help Singaporeans who are outliers and do not conform to the idea of traditional families," said Ms K. Thanaletchimi, 46, president of the health-care service employees' union. "Singles are also taxpayers who have a stake in nation building."

    Mr Heng said: "I'm glad there is a recognition that HDB policy discriminates against us. There are different definitions of a family nucleus. Singles are also part of the bigger Singapore family."

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  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2012
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    Default

    My prediction:

    1. Couples with children and no flat / small flats / MM units get priority for purchase of balance flats first round (time limited to say half a year).

    2. Remaining flats after SBF may be left for singles to ballot for.

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