2,000 applications for 200 5-room BTO Dawson flats costing more
than $500K
December 29, 2009
Despite the hefty price tag, 9,865 Singaporeans have applied for
1,718 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats at the Dawson estate in
Queenstown, or six times oversubscribed.
Surprisingly, the five-room flats which are the most expensive,
have proved to be the most popular with over 2,000 applicants vying
for the 200 units for offer.
According to HDB Infoweb, the prices of these flats start from
$112,000, $280,000, $373,000 and $532,000 for SA, 3-room, 4-room
and 5-room flats respectively.
For that price, one can get a decent 3-room condominium in the
suburbs like Woodlands, Pasir Ris and Jurong.
According to a Financial Consultant interviewed by Lianhe Wanbao
lately, only couples who earn a combined income of more than $7,500
monthly should consider buying these 5-room flats.
Even then, they will have to fork out a few hundred dollars in
cash on top of depleting their CPFs for the mortgage loan such that
they will probably have little savings left for their
retirement.
From the “overwhelming” response, it appears that the home
buyers are not aware of what is in store for them.
Unless they are assured of a yearly increase in their salary to
keep pace with inflation, they will need to slog day in and out for
the next thirty years just for a roof over their heads.
The prices of HDB flats have skyrocketed in recent years due to
the influx of foreigners and limited new flats built by HDB.
As HDB is the sole agency building public housing in Singapore,
it is able to set any price as it sees fit and Singaporeans will
have no choice but to buy the flats from them.
For some inexplicable reasons, the prices of BTO flats are
pegged to transactions of resale flats in the vicinity over the
last three months.
This means that HDB can “timed” the release of the BTO flats to
capitalize on the booming property market.
An Indonesian PR paid $653,000 for a 4-room resale flat at
Queenstown only a month ago which make the BTO Dawson flats look
“cheap”.
While there are some grouses on the ground at the rising cost of
public housing in Singapore, HDB continues to insist that they
remain “affordable”.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan even castigated
Singaporeans for being “choosy”.
The news of the BTO flats being over-subscribed was splashed
across the major papers today which will provide an ideal “excuse”
for HDB to shield it from future criticisms:
“See, if HDB flats are indeed unaffordable, why are there still
so many Singaporeans queuing up to buy them?”
But then again, HDB enjoys a complete monopoly over the public
housing market in Singapore.
About 85 per cent of Singapore’s population live in HDB flats.
Unless one is rich enough to afford a private property, he/she will
have no choice but to buy from HDB.