They may be largely unsold, but take-up rate is relatively good
Flats in Jurong West and Sembawang made up a whopping 94 per cent of unsold flats that were put on the market by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in April this year. But the situation is not as dismal as it seems.
Industry players have, in fact, given these figures the thumbs-up, noting that flats in these towns sold well given that they had the highest number under the HDB’s revamped bi-monthly sale of four-room and bigger flats.
As of July 31, Jurong West had 274 of its 381 units — 72 per cent — taken up. In Sembawang, 348 out of the 502 units — 69 per cent — on offer were sold, according to statistics from the housing authority yesterday. Other towns that took part in the April exercise, such as Bukit Batok and Yishun, had all their flats on offer snapped up. Only one out of the 127 flats at Woodlands, as well as 16 out of the 139 flats in Bukit Panjang, remain available.
The exercise — which is determined by computer ballot and does away with queues of homeseekers outside the HDB sales office — a total of 1,269 flats offered in northern and western Singapore.
Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of property agency PropNex, said the take-up rate of the Jurong West and Sembawang flats is “very commendable” as these are usually not popular with buyers.
Buyers tend to perceive these towns as lacking in neighbourhood amenities and “far off” from the rest of the island, said managing director for C & H Realty Albert Lu.
Statistics from the HDB showed that, in the second quarter of the year, the median cash-over-valuation for a five-room resale flat in Jurong West was $6,000, vis-à-vis $10,000 in Jurong East. The difference for an executive flat was even greater, at $20,000.
Cash-over-valuation refers to the difference between the resale price and market value of the flat.
Given the market conditions now, the “lower” prices for the Jurong West and Sembawang unsold flats — whereby buyers buy direct from the HDB — could have helped seal the deal, said Mr Chris Koh, director at Dennis Wee Properties. The prices could be between “5 and 10 per cent” lower than those in popular towns, such as Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands, he said.
The HDB also launched the sale of 354 flats in established towns yesterday. Between one and four units are in each of the towns of Marine Parade, Clementi, Toa Payoh and Central. Geylang is putting out 79 units, followed by Bukit Merah (77) and Tampines (44).
Those seeking a four-room flat and are Chinese stand a high chance of success in Geylang, where they can purchase up to 70 such available units are on offer. This is in contrast to Malays (30) and those in the Indian and Others grouping (21), in line with the ethnic quota policy for public housing.
On the other hand, non-Chinese applicants could look to Bukit Merah, which is offering 61 five-room units. All these units are available to Malays, with 47 available to Indians and other ethnic groups.
Interested flat buyers can submit their applications online until Aug 16.
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