First-time applicants have better chances of clinching new flats
FIRST-TIME applicants — and those who have been unsuccessful repeatedly — will now have a higher chance of landing their dream homes. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) yesterday announced immediate changes to its priority scheme for its Built-To-Order (BTO) and balloting exercises.
Under the previous scheme, married first-time buyers choosing flats near their parents’ homes received up to four times the priority of regular applicants. And according to HDB, married first-time applicants made up about eight of 10 of those shortlisted through balloting.
To improve their chances of clinching a unit, HDB will reserve at least 90 per cent of the flats for such first-time applicants.
Under this enhanced scheme, if shortlisted second-time applicants do not take up the full 10 per cent of their quota, the balance will be allocated to the first-timers.
First-timers who had failed to be shortlisted four times or more would also be given more chances under the ballot. The move was “in recognition of the more pressing need among the newly-weds to buy an HDB flat, near their parents if possible, so that they could settle down to start a family,” said HDB in a press release.
This is the first initiative following a three-month-long public consultation exercise involving 1,000 heartlanders on ways to strengthen bonds within HDB estates. One recommendation was to increase the chances of success of first-time applicants, as the queues for flats were getting longer. For example, in February there were 2,500 first-time buyers applying for just 465 four-room units in Bukit Merah.
Ms Serene Koh, for one, knows how frustrating the wait can be. The 28-year-old, who works in the banking sector, had been trying for the past two years to get a flat.
She and her fiancé managed to land a unit in Buangkok — but only after “three to four” previous attempts. Said Ms Koh: “We had to wait for the house first before we could decide when to get married.”
Welcoming the changes, Ms Jessica Yeo, 24, and her fiancé are still trying their luck in the balloting exercise for a four-room flat in one of the mature estates — even though they have fixed their wedding for next May. When the couple last checked, they found out that they would be competing with more than 4,000 others for some 300 units.
While the HDB has been encouraging those in urgent need of public housing to consider the resale market, Ms Yeo said: “We did think about getting a resale flat but given the high property prices, it would be very tough on us financially.”
Describing the new scheme as “a shifting of priorities”, C & H Realty’s managing director Albert Lu pointed out that “any effects on the open and HDB market would cancel each other out”.
Said PropNex CEO Mohd Ismail: “The number of second-timers applying under the BTO and Balloting Scheme is very small to begin with, given that they have to pay a levy to the Government if they buy the flats direct from HDB.”
Meanwhile, the HDB yesterday launched the 628-unit Punggol Vista — the first BTO project to come under the new priority scheme.
Situated at the junction of Punggol Central and Punggol Road, the project also marks the first batch of new two-room flats to be offered in Punggol town.
Under the indicative price range given by the HDB, these flats would cost between $75,000 and $91,000, while the three-room units would command a price of between $121,000 and $145,000. The four-room flats have an indicative price of between $184,000 and $227,000.
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