$727k too much for Boon Keng HDB flat?
Greatearth pledges to keep prices down for condo-like HDB flats
A DAY after City View@Boon Keng's launch, with homes going for a top price of $727,000, some are wondering if that is too much to pay for a Housing Board flat.
One developer, having won a bid to build similar kinds of flats in Ang Mo Kio, has pledged to make his project affordable: No single unit will be priced above $700,000.
Greatearth Developments gave this commitment yesterday during an interview about its 500-unit project in Ang Mo Kio Street 52.
Although it declined to comment on the Boon Keng project, Greatearth, which is a unit of listed firm United Engineers and which won the tender last year for the Ang Mo Kio plot, said prices will not hit those levels.
The Ang Mo Kio plot is the third such site for condo-style estates.
Greatearth director Chua Hock Tong said the firm wants to keep its homes affordable: 'We'll try to balance the quality and the price. We don't want (the flats to be) beyond the reach of HDB dwellers.'
On Thursday, Hoi Hup Sunway Development unveiled its offering of condo-like flats in Boon Keng under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).
In a DBSS project, private developers price their flats but are bound by the general rules of public housing. This means they can sell their flats only to households earning not more than $8,000 a month.
The 714-unit City View@Boon Keng, launched for sale today, boasts 474 five-room flats priced from $536,000 to $727,000. Of these, 35 cost $700,000 and above.
The prices are the highest seen for such flats, but property agents felt they were reasonable given the project's location on the city fringes and the views from some units.
An 11-year-old standard five-room HDB flat near the project site changed hands for $545,000 in November. Another two-year-old five-room unit sold for $630,000 last month.
Financial expert Leong Sze Hian from the Society of Financial Service Professionals said a couple earning $8,000 a month would have to be very careful about their finances if they opted for a $727,000 flat.
If they took a 30-year Housing Board loan for 90 per cent of the price, they would face about $2,600 in monthly instalments. About $780 would have to be paid in cash, because their instalments would exceed their monthly Central Provident Fund contributions.
But while Greatearth aims to keep prices affordable, Mr Chua also vowed to keep the quality up, saying the firm will not stint on the condo-like fittings that buyers have come to expect under the scheme.
Premiere@Tampines, with 616 units, features built-in wardrobes, timber flooring and bay windows. City View@Boon Keng has wall-to-wall balconies and card access to its lift lobbies.
Mr Chua promised that the Ang Mo Kio project will have similar condo fittings, if not more.
The 1.7ha plot is near to Ang Mo Kio Town Garden East and a 10-minute walk from Ang Mo Kio MRT and Ang Mo Kio Hub.
Mr Chua said the units will be oriented towards the town garden. The carpark will be designed to blend with the landscape.
The flats are expected to be launched for sale in the second half of the year. Construction is due to start between April and June and wrap up by late 2012.
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