First-timers who reject two offers to buy a flat lose priority status for a year
THINK hard before you apply to buy a new Housing Board flat: Lodging frivolous applications will now get you sent to the back of the queue.
New HDB rules unveiled yesterday target flighty first-time buyers who have been hedging their bets by applying for flats when they often have no intention of closing the deal.
The HDB said the move 'will encourage applicants to consider their options carefully'. It also addresses concerns that the thousands of applications that pour in for HDB projects bear little relation to the actual take-up rate.Look at Punggol Lodge, launched in October. There were 464 four-roomers on offer, attracting 1,484 applications, but when offers went out, 1,069 'buyers' eventually said no thanks.
And when 60 three-room flats were offered in November's launch of Segar Meadows in Bukit Panjang, 98 per cent of first-timers - those who applied to purchase a flat for the very first time - who were offered a flat, rejected the chance to buy.
The HDB hears all sorts of excuses. Some applicants said they wanted to also consider flats under other HDB sales or that the unit they really wanted had already been selected. Others indicated that they weren't cashed up.
The demand for new flats shot up last year after young couples, who were priced out of the resale market, tried for new HDB homes, which are often cheaper.
The rush - and problem with frivolous applicants - prompted National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan to call for a review of the rules last month.
The new rules, which apply immediately, have a 'two strikes and you're out' approach. A first-time buyer who rejects an offer to buy a flat twice or more at any HDB sales exercise, loses his first-timer priorities for a year. That effectively puts him at the back of the queue with the second-timers.
First-timers get two chances in a ballot. If they live near their parents, they get two more, under the Married Child Priority Scheme.
Last August, the HDB also began setting aside 90 per cent of the flats in a sales exercise for first-timers. The rest were earmarked for second-timers.
These are the first-time privileges a person could lose for a year if they get too picky.
But the HDB is also helping genuine first-timers who repeatedly miss out in ballots. If you apply twice and miss chances to buy, you can have another shot on your third try and your name goes into the ballot once more. For your fourth try, you get entered two more times, and so on.
This applies only to build-to-order projects in newer estates like Punggol. The old rules gave first-timers extra chances only on the fifth try, but at all estates.
First-time hopefuls like administrative officer Chen Xiuling, 26, said the new rules would help weed out those with a 'just apply and see how' attitude.
But 26-year-old insurance agent Sarah Teo thought the 'two strikes' rule was a bit strict: 'What if both times you were left only with undesirable flats on a low floor, at bad locations?'
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System Should Be Based On Preferences, Not Luck
Source : The Straits Times, May 24, 2008
FINE-TUNING HDB FLAT APPLICATIONS
I REFER to yesterday's front-page report about the refined application process for buying new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats.
While the refinement of the balloting system is overdue, it does not address the fundamental problem. The problem is that the system is based largely on luck when it should be based on expectations or preferences.
Let me illustrate: Whenever there is a new build-to-order (BTO) project, I would check out the sales brochure, and appraise the layout of the different blocks and units, the surrounding amenities and future development of the area.
In the case of Jade @ Yishun Phase I, I had envisioned myself living in a unit on a high floor - that is, eighth floor and above - sipping a cuppa and enjoying the view of the reservoir or Yishun park.
But I was never given a chance at the ballot as my queue number exceeded twice the number of flats available. Subsequently, I was invited to select a flat from among the ones that were rejected. But all the units were on the second floor.
It is true that many applicants are choosy. But it is also a fact that the system can be fine-tuned to accommodate the genuine preferences of applicants.
After all, we are choosing a home, not a shelter.
The HDB should allow applicants to state their preferences for floor levels and block or unit numbers.
The system can then categorise applicants into groups with different balloting numbers. This is not only fairer but also more practical and accurate.
The current balloting system penalises many.
For instance, an applicant who has no preferences and whose sole desire is to obtain a flat as soon as possible, may repeatedly obtain a ballot number that puts him at the tail end. His chances of obtaining a flat anywhere will not improve appreciably despite repeated attempts.
On the other hand, another applicant who has specific preferences may fail in his objective as well. His queue number for flat selection may put him so far back that when his turn comes, he is left with flats in blocks or on floors that are not worth his while shelling out so much money for.
Tan Ai Li (Miss)
Source : The Straits Times, May 24, 2008
Fundamental Reasons
'Good, but change only resolves the present situation.'
MR ADRIAN BEK: 'The change is good as it will provide better chances for first-time applicants who need a flat urgently and reduce overwhelming demand whenever balloting for new flats opens. But the change only resolves the present situation. There must be underlying reasons why applicants are not selecting a flat when their turn is due. The HDB should conduct surveys to find out the reasons.'
THE REAL PROBLEM, AS HE SEES IT
'Focus on matching unselected units with people who did not apply previously but are keen to buy now.'
MR CHUA CHERN PIN: 'The revision addresses the problem of people not buying a flat after applying for it. Cutting wastage is not the key problem. Also, the revised procedure not only penalises applicants but pressures them to buy a flat after they have applied. Build-to-order (BTO) flats carry a time lag of a few years between an application to purchase and the actual purchase itself. Meanwhile, circumstances may change. Focus on matching unselected BTO units with people who did not apply previously, but are keen to buy now. This will offer a flat to applicants who want one immediately, which, I presume, is the real problem the HDB is trying to solve.'
Give Singles A Shot At Rejected Flats
Source : The Straits Times, May 28, 2008
THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) should be stricter on frivolous applicants for its new flats ('HDB targets frivolous applicants'', last Friday).
The HDB should also allow singles over 35 years of age to apply for flats rejected by successful applicants. Single Singaporeans will probably not be as fussy as the others.
Currently, singles are limited in their choices when buying an HDB flat.
Allowing single Singaporeans the chance to buy rejected flats may also ensure that such flats are not left vacant for years, flats such as those in Jurong West, Punggol and Sengkang.
Adry Zamani
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