No Flat, So Wedding Has To Wait

Source : TODAY, 16 Aug 2007

Couples wonder why HDB’s revisions do not apply to bi-monthly sales
















Letter from Jamie Tan

HDB has an improved priority scheme for first-timers applying for new flats. Under the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS), they have four chances in the Balloting Exercise and Build-To-Order categories.

Sadly, it states that couples in urgent need to get a flat should consider renting or buying resale flats. But not everyone can afford these alternatives in the current booming property market.

Surprisingly, this first-timers-cum-MCPS privilege was not extended to the current bi-monthly sale of flats released this month. Why are this lot of applicants, including myself, not accorded the priority schemes — even though it is uses balloting to allocate a queue number as well?

My fiance and I woke up early on Friday to submit our application once the exercise started on the Web. And there were already 8,849 applicants for the 384 available units.

Because of the balloting procedure, we may not even stand a selection chance for our ideal flat. At the last Balloting Exercise earlier this year, we had a queue number close to 3,000. Needless to say, we could not get the flat we wanted.

Our government is constantly encouraging and working to get couples to get married, start a family and live near their parents. Amid the large crowd of “flat-hoppers” or opportunists, there are many couples who really want to start a family and are obliged to care for parents living nearby.

The authorities may wish to review the policies for such bi-monthly applications.

Letter from Jesline Soh

After stripping off the Walk-In-Selection (WIS) scheme by HDB at the beginning of the year and replacing it with bi-monthly sales, it was all back to balloting again.
At the HDB north-east area launch two months ago, my husband and I applied and we got queue number 3944 out of 3955 applicants.

As for our friends, who had queue numbers ranging in the 1900s and 2500s, both their appointments were scheduled on Aug 1. It is surprising to know HDB anticipates receiving more than 600 applicants in one day.

I understand HDB’s intention of giving all a fair chance by scheduling appointments for everybody. But it is unlikely people would queue when their chances are almost zero. Then, what is the point of being scheduled for an appointment?

That is probably why people who are falling out of the range of the number of flats available all have appointments in the last few days of the launch, as HDB probably does not expect most of these applicants to show up since they have nothing to buy.
Although there might be leftover flats at the later stage, those are probably old repurchased flats, executive flats that are too expensive for young couples, or flats on low floors or in a noisy or undesirable location. And often, because the quota for ethnic Chinese in a particular estate is filled, we are no longer eligible.

I am not sure how we can succeed in balloting for our home, if luck is always not on our side.

I am looking at the north-east area in order to be near our parents. Yet, the launch for each area will only happen twice a year, so I do not know how many years it would take before I succeed. This is a very disheartening thought.

Are we looking at people’s need for housing or conducting a lucky draw? Why can’t HDB extend the improved priority schemes to this category of flats?

The government is ever so supportive of young couples setting up families. But how is this possible when people don’t know when they can have a flat?

Letter from Alice Lim

I refer to the article, “Easier to get that dream home” (Aug 15). I was delighted that HDB has revised their system to increase the chances of success for first-timers.

But when I called HDB, I was disappointed to know that this revision does not help young couples planning to marry soon. It is applicable only for Build-To-Order and Balloting Exercise; bi-monthly exercises are excluded.

The bi-monthly exercise is obviously seeing a situation where demand is more than supply. The only alternative is the resale market. But most owners are asking for hard cash that young couples are not able to fork out. Most like myself end up delaying their wedding plans.