$2,500 record figure not for one, but two combined 3-room Jurong East flats
IT WAS an eye-popping figure,even in the midst of a property market boom — and it turned out to be too good to be true.
On Saturday, The Straits Times ran an article on HDB rents hitting a 10-year high.
Citing rental figures from property agencies, ST reported — also listing other transactions in various locations — that a 3-room unit in Block 253 in Jurong East St 24 fetched a monthly rental of $2,500.
But the figure turned out to be inaccurate, after an alert blogger did his own investigations and published the findings on his blog.
Mr Alex Au, who runs the yawningbread.org website, told TODAY that the unrealistic figure raised his eyebrows, especially since he lived just a few blocks away from Block 253.
With a digital camera in hand, Mr Au visited the block and found that it was halfempty.
He asked: “Why would a new tenant pay premium rates when there are so many unoccupied flats on offer?”
When contacted by TODAY,ERA Singapore, which provided the data on the Jurong East transaction, acknowledged its mistake.
Its vice-president Eugene Lim said: “It was a transaction in 2005, but it was actually for two units of 3-room flats that were combined. Under the data churned out by our computer, it was classified as a 3-room flat transaction … You can call it human error or computer error.”
Mr Lim added that the “jumbo” flat was rented to a company to house its foreign workers.
TODAY verified the claim when it visited Block 253.
ST said in a statement that the newspaper had “verified the accuracy of the information with ERA before going to print”.
But after questions were raised over the flat, the paper investigated further.
“We found that the $2,500 monthly rental was being paid for a ‘jumbo’ flat in Block 253 which comprised two adjoining 3-room flats,” it said.
Over at Block 510 Woodlands Drive 14 — also cited in the ST report — residents said they are “surprised” at the $2,200 monthly rent that an executive unit at their block
fetched.
But Mr P Wang, who bought his four-room unit for $260,000 in February, felt the high rent was “possible”.
The 32-year-old technician said: “It could be a one-off, given the booming property market.”
Earlier, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan had expressed his concern over reports of record property prices.
Mr Au agreed that the media had to be “very careful” with information supplied by third parties, “especially when there might be a vested interest”.
The latest episode goes to show how the mainstream media and the blogosphere could complement each other in revealing “the truth”, he added. “Working together in a more active media scene benefits everybody.”
EXPOSE: Blogger Alex Au, who took these photos, checked out the
half-empty Block 253 in Jurong East St 24 and found that some flats
had broken windows that were boarded up; while one looked as if it
was being stripped, with PVC cable trunking strewn about.
GOVT TO RELEASE MORE DATA ON HDB RENTS
The Government is planning to release more market data on rents for HDB flats soon. This is to help potential tenants better understand the situation and make a more informed decision,said Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu yesterday.
“The Government is not doing anything to dampen the market per se. I think we just want to make sure there is no, I would say, exuberance that is not warranted driving the market ... What we want to make sure is that people are not misled,” she said.
The information will cover market data, as well as the obligations involved so consumers know what they are getting into.
Meanwhile, the latest property prices for the April-to-June period will be released on Friday. Separately, the HDB announced the launch of the sale of 54 four-room units and 1,219 five-room units in Jurong West under the balloting exercise. Applications are open until Aug 13; more information is at www.hdb.gov.sg. —CHANNEL NEWSASIA
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