More help for low-income singles to buy new flats

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http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...flats-20130731

More help for low-income singles to buy new flats

Up to $30k extra subsidy if applying alone, and $60k for joint applicants

Published on Jul 31, 2013

By Daryl Chin Property Correspondent


LOW-INCOME singles looking for their first new Housing Board flat will now be able to get up to $30,000 in extra subsidy if they apply on their own.

The grants double to $60,000 if two or more singles apply together, pushing a two-room flat's price to as low as $16,000.

This was one of the tweaks HDB announced yesterday during a milestone launch of 4,079 Build-To-Order flats in Sengkang, Yishun and Bukit Merah.

Previously, singles could buy only resale flats.

But with this launch, first- timer singles aged 35 and up, with a monthly income of $5,000 or less can, for the first time, apply for a new two-room flat in non-mature estates.

HDB may relax its policy even further. National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan told The Straits Times that offering two-roomers was just "a start", and bigger flats may be available to singles in the future.

For now, up to a third of the 519 two-roomers which have been made available in Sengkang and Yishun will be reserved for singles. Coming in 35 sq m and 45 sq m sizes, they are priced between $76,000 and $133,000.

Singles who apply on their own, however, will have to pay an extra $15,000 on top of the selling price, but the money will be returned as a $15,000 grant if they get married later.

To ensure low-income families are not squeezed out of these new two-roomers, their qualifying income ceiling has been raised from $2,000 to $5,000.

But the biggest tweak announced yesterday was HDB extending two grant schemes to singles in order to help them own their first home.

Singles who earn up to $2,500 and apply on their own can get an Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) of up to $20,000. Those who take home $1,125 a month or less get a Special CPF Housing Grant of $10,000.

The numbers are doubled for those applying under the Joint Singles Scheme, which means a new two-roomer in Yishun can be bought for as low as $16,000.

In comparison, the price tag of a four-room unit in a mature estate such as Bukit Merah starts from $430,000 with grants.

Low-income singles can also avail themselves of the AHG when they buy five-room or smaller resale flats.

Another change which kicked in was to keep first-timers who marry someone who had bought a flat in the past, for instance a divorcee, in the priority queue.

Previously, these couples would have been considered second-timers, and have a tougher time getting a new unit. Now they will be treated as first-timers, for whom the bulk of new flats are reserved.

The effect of all these changes, said ERA Realty's key executive officer Eugene Lim, could see more turn away from the resale market. "Singles and second-timers will find it easier to apply for new flats. Coupled with cooling measures earlier and a ramp-up of new flat supply, this could lead to less demand on the resale market."

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...ngles-20130731

Published July 31, 2013

HDB sets aside up to 30% of 2-room BTO flats for singles

Policies tweaked to help more singles and families buy their first HDB flat

By ng zhuo yang


ELIGIBLE singles can now apply for new two-room flats directly from the Housing and Development Board, which will set aside up to 30 per cent of the two-room flat supply in its latest Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise for them.

First announced in March this year, the new housing policy allows first-time single Singapore citizens - aged 35 years and above - who earn up to $5,000 per month to buy new two-room standard flats in non-mature estates directly from HDB.

A total of 519 new two-room flats in Yishun and Sengkang will be offered in this BTO exercise, comprising 301 units in new BTO projects, and another 218 units from previous BTO exercises.

Despite being located in non-mature estates, it is "very likely" that these flats will be well-received by anticipating singles who cannot afford the cash-over-valuation (COV) for resale flats in the open market, said R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng.

Previously, singles age 35 and above could only purchase HDB flats from the resale market.

Those who are eligible and apply under the Joint Singles Scheme (JSS) stand to receive CPF housing grants similar to those for married couples totalling $30,000, while others who apply under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme (SSC) get half the amount.

HDB said yesterday that the new BTO housing policy for singles takes reference from the existing resale policy for singles. This means that singles who apply through JSS will pay the same price as married couples, while SSC applicants will pay $15,000 more.

Singles who later marry will receive the CPF housing top-up grant of $15,000 after marriage.

In parallel, the existing Additional CPF and Special CPF housing grants for married couples will be extended to singles buying BTO flats.

The Additional CPF housing grant will also be extended to singles buying a resale flat to help more of them buy their first HDB flats.

ERA Realty Network key executive officer Eugene Lim said: "At a time when COV prices are moderating, this scheme may entice more singles to enter the HDB resale market as they save on the waiting time for a new flat."

Besides this, HDB has also made two other refinements to its existing housing policies.

In order to give more families the option to buy two-room flats in non-mature estates, the monthly household income ceiling for such flats will be increased from $2,000 to $5,000.

A couple comprising a first-time and a second-time buyer will now enjoy the same priority in flat allocation as families comprising two first-time buyers.

HDB said yesterday that this change will help singles who have bought a two-room BTO flat to purchase a new matrimonial flat if they marry subsequently. It will also benefit reconstituted families comprising a first-time and a second-time buyer, such as divorcees who remarry.

Currently, first-time families who do not book a flat after two invitations will have their first-time buyer priorities suspended for one year.

However, to prevent uncommitted applicants from depriving others who are in an urgent need of a flat, first-time families who have their priorities suspended but continue not to book a flat after two invitations will have these priorities suspended for another year.

Second-time families and singles who do not book a flat after two invitations will not be able to participate in HDB's sales exercises for one year.

"With singles and second-timer buyers finding it easier to apply for BTO flats, there may be less demand on the resale market," said Mr Lim.

Thus, the overall effect of these announcements could go towards stabilising resale flat prices, he added.