Meet The Anti-En Bloc Sellers

Source : The Straits Times, Dec 29, 2007
WHEN Gillman Heights in Alexandra Road was sold in February, it was the biggest collective sale to date.

But it had taken a whole year for the estate to be sold, and home prices had risen so much in the meantime that some sellers (left) were no longer happy with the sale price.

When they took their case to the authorities, so many people turned up that a bigger room was needed and security guards were brought in for ‘crowd control’.
This year, 109 estates were sold en bloc - most in the first six months - netting more than $13 billion for homeowners.

Despite the opportunity to make tidy profits, many owners, like those at Gillman Heights, felt they did not receive enough proceeds.
The property boom had chased prices up, leaving most of the sellers with no choice but to move to smaller apartments or cheaper locations.
The effects of the en bloc frenzy early this year are still being felt.

The demolition of apartments has led to a shortage of housing in the city and caused rents to spike.

With the cash from collective sales in hand, thousands of displaced families are still house-hunting, driving up prices for suburban apartments and HDB flats.