Housing

The government announced yesterday (9 May) changes to CPF (Central Provident Fund) and Housing Development Board (HDB) rules, which will enable buyers to use more of their CPF to buy the older flats with shorter lease. The changes, which apply to the purchase of HDB flats, private properties and executive condominiums, take effect today (10 May). Under the current rules, …

by ValueChampion Have you ever thought about commuting to your job in Singapore from Malaysia to save money? We calculated the costs and benefits to see if it’s worth considering. For those of us that are always trying to save money, moving to a new neighborhood in hopes of lower housing costs is a common idea. But what about a different …

Recently, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat addressed the issue of the new 99-year-lease Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats which has been generating scepticism from the public due to its rental aspect. Mr Heng, who was quoted by TodayOnline in its report, claimed that a 25-year-old Singaporean buying a new HDB flat would still have more than 30 years of …

HDB residents may expect having to “pay” as they “throw” in the future, following the National Environment Agency (NEA)’s plans to introduce the tracking of domestic waste for each household via radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in bin chutes in HDB estates. The Straits Times quoted NEA official Cheang Kok Chung as saying that the NEA is currently “working on …

The issue of income stratification in public housing in Singapore should be dealt with via alternative forms of ownership such as equity sharing and guaranteed subsidised resettlement on lease expiry in areas of high market value, said Nominated Member of Parliament Walter Theseira. Speaking in Parliament on Wed (6 Mar), Prof Theseira, who also teaches Economics at the Singapore University …

by ValueChampion It is wise for current and future homeowners to be cognisant of trends in the housing market if they are planning to buy a new home or sell an existing one. Here, we highlight some key factors to be aware of in 2019. After a sharp uptick in private property prices, Singapore’s government introduced cooling measures in July of …

HDB launched 3,739 flats for sale on Tuesday (12 February) under the February 2019 Build-To-Order (BTO) and Re-Offer of Balance Flats (ROF) exercise, which includes 3,162 BTO units and 577 ROF units across various towns/estates. In a press release on tuesday (12 February), the Housing Development Board (HDB) stated that this is the first tranche of 15,000 BTO flats to …

Around 3,500 rental tenants have bought their first home in the Build-to-Order or Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises since 2013 with the help of various housing grants. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced on Sunday (10 February) that close to 2,000 of these tenants have moved into their new flat. While, the rest are waiting for the completion of their …

by PropertyGuru House prices in Singapore are considered “seriously unaffordable”, with a median multiple of 4.6, which means that the median house price is 4.6 times the city-state’s median household income, according to an annual survey conducted by urban planning policy consultancy Demographia in Q3 2018. The 15th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey (2019) covered 309 cities in eight …

The Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) will be extended to all HDB flat types with effect from 1 January 2019, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced in a press release on Tuesday (1 January). Previously, the LBS was only available to seniors who own 4-room or smaller flat types. With the extension, seniors who own 5-room and larger flat types …