http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_572788.html
Aug 30, 2010
Surge in new HDB flats
By Jessica Cheam
HOME buyers can look forward to an unprecedented surge in supply of new Housing Board flats this year and next - enough to fill a town as big as Toa Payoh.
The HDB said on Monday it will offer 16,000 new flats this year, and up to 22,000 next year under its build-to-order (BTO) scheme - together, surpassing the 35,400 flats in Toa Payoh today.
It will also release more land for tender for executive condominiums (ECs) and its design, build and sell scheme (DBSS), where private sector operators develop public housing projects. These could yield 7,000 DBSS flats and 8,000 EC units over the next two years if demand is sustained.
In contrast, only 4,000 units have been launched for sale under the DBSS scheme since it started in 2005 and 10,000 flats for ECs in the last 10 years.
The ramp-up of supply follows Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's announcement in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday that the $8,000 a month income ceiling will be slightly relaxed for the 'sandwich group' of home buyers.
Those with a monthly household income of between $8,000 and $10,000 will now also be eligible to buy DBSS flats - where previously their only option apart from private property was EC units. They will be allowed to buy the flats with a CPF Housing Grant of $30,000.