More HDB Condo-Like Flats Coming Up

Source : The Straits Times, Dec 27, 2007

Bishan to get about 460 flats built by private developers; blocks may be as high as 50 storeys

BISHAN, one of the hottest young estates in the 1990s, is poised for a new infusion of public housing built by the private sector.

A 1.5 ha plot in Bishan Street 24, suitable for about 460 flats, was put up for tender yesterday by the Housing Board.

The developer who bags the site will able to design, build and sell flats there with consultants estimating that four-room flats could sell for $450,000 to $490,000.

Blocks can go up to about 50 storeys high so any development will tower over the rest of Bishan's public housing.

ERA Singapore assistant vice-president Eugene Lim said the land release will trigger new interest in the town.
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'It will probably bring demand back to Bishan... This 50-storey project will be a landmark,' he said.

Experts expect the site - the tender closes on Feb 19 - to fetch between $103 million and $143 million, based on a price per sq ft per plot ratio of $180 to $250.

The site is the fourth to be released under a programme that gives private developers free rein over the project as long as they meet the general rules of public housing.

These include selling flats only to families earning no more than $8,000 a month and ensuring that a project's common areas are easy to maintain. Such flats cater to buyers earning closer to the $8,000 cap and play a bridging role between generic HDB flats and private housing.

The first such project - the Premiere@Tampines developed by Sim Lian Land - drew almost 6,000 applicants for its 616 flats. Its units come with condo trappings like air-conditioning, built-in wardrobes and bay windows.

The Sim Lian sale was held one year ago but HDB prices have shot up by more than 11 per cent since then, so the rush for the Bishan development is expected to be just as robust.

PREMIERE @TAMPINES: Almost 6,000 applicants for 616 flats. -- PHOTO: SIM LIAN LAND

IT sales manager Andy Tan, 32, who is considering a unit there, said: 'The demand could be overwhelming. Hopefully, I am wrong.'

The second batch of 714 such flats in Boon Keng Road, developed by a group led by Hoi Hup Realty, is expected to be launched next month.

LAUNCH NEXT MONTH: A batch of 714 flats in Boon Keng Road. -- PHOTO: HOI HUP

A third site in Ang Mo Kio was just sold to Greatearth Development, while three sites - in Toa Payoh, Simei and Bedok - will be released in the coming months. They could hold a total of 1,500 units.

The HDB has offered about 4,800 build-to-order flats and more than 4,000 units from its surplus stock this year.

Young couples have been grappling with surging prices in the resale market and a tight supply of heavily subsidised HDB flats.

A booming market has seen some sellers demand as much as $100,000 in cash over the valuation (COV) of a flat. As this sum cannot be paid with a home loan, and most HDB flat-buyers rely heavily on loans for financing, this high COV puts many people out of the running.

In response, the Government last month committed to offering for sale more than 7,000 new HDB flats over a period of seven months, as well as seven plots of land that could house another 3,000 higher-end homes.

But those in urgent need of new homes may find it tough going as they will take at least two to three years to build.

The HDB's stock of surplus flats has been whittled down from about 10,000 three years ago to less than a third of that.

Buyers have scrambled for such units. Earlier this month, 316 surplus flats in the outlying towns of Hougang, Sengkang and Punggol attracted a staggering 5,147 applications.