SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board is considering
more options to try and clear its backlog of 9,000 unsold
flats.
Most of these surplus units are in outlying areas like Jurong West,
Punggol, Bukit Panjang and Seng Kang.
Some of the measures include engaging property agents to sell the
units in the resale market, and improving interior fittings to make
the flats more attractive.
The launch of show flats, new marketing activities and
walk-in-selection exercises have helped clear about 1,000 unsold
flats in the past year.
But with 9,000 flats still unsold, HDB could revisit a successful
pilot project conducted in May.
Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew, CEO of HDB, said: "We actually put up
100 of these flats to be available for sale on the resale market,
and we have had very good response rate, we have had 98 of those
taken up ... putting it on the market to enlarge the pool of
eligible buyers, for example the PRs and the singles."
Property agents said the strong sales could be due to the fact that
these are new flats at attractive prices, and buyers could renovate
them as desired.
There are also fewer restrictions on resale flats such as the
five-year minimum occupation period.
Unlike in May where one agency was appointed to sell the flats, HDB
says it might get more agents involved this time round.
While many welcomed the move to clear the backlog, industry players
warn about possible repercussions.
Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex, said: "On average there are 30,000
transactions in the resale market, per month it is about 2,500, if
you talk about 250 put into the market per month, that's about 10
percent, that should be able to be absorb by the market, but the
other factor is the pricing.
"If the pricing varies too far away from current resale market,
then it will certainly put pressure on the resale market prices and
there may be a concern for owners in that particular estate as it
got to do with their asset value."
Chris Koh, Director of Dennis Wee Properties, said: "I am hoping
that HDB will do this tactfully, not to do it in one big pool of
flats coming into the market at one time, also not to tell the
public that it's going to be done every quarter or that it will be
done five to six times a year, that will definitely affect the
market."
HDB is also thinking of extending an option currently available in
its Build To Order scheme to unsold flats rolled out on the resale
market.
This allows buyers to add optional fittings like flooring and new
fixtures, at an extra cost, to make their units more
attractive.
Besides monitoring the number of units and pace at which the unsold
flats are offered, the HDB will also continue with its Walk-In
Selection as the main avenue to get buyers for the surplus stock. -
CNA/de
