Ridiculous HDB Prices

last SG · 2010-05-31T19:17:39+00:00

Wa, I read reports say resale prices will fall soon. They must be joking right? Don't scare me.

charlize SG

Reports say Sg can accomodate 7-8 million.

Huat ah.

Will be so crowded until cannot walk.

charlize SG

The rich gets richer....

Yes.

charlize SG

http://www.propertyguru.com.sg/property-management-news/2013/1/34942/hdb-resale-prices-reach-historic-peak

M the name SG

Tough action to cool property market

Steps include higher stamp duties, rules limiting buyers' borrowing

By LEE SU SHYAN
MONEY EDITOR

Steps include higher stamp duties, rules limiting buyers' borrowing

NEW property cooling measures were announced yesterday - the seventh in recent years - as the Government moves yet again to rein in the red hot market.

The steps include higher stamp duties and rules limiting buyers on how much they can borrow, in some cases as little as 20 per cent of the purchase price.

The hard-hitting measures, most of which take effect today, cover the private and public residential markets, executive condominiums (ECs) and the industrial property sector.

The aim is to curb investor demand, reduce speculation in industrial property, be stricter on foreign buyers and increase lending limits to fend off over-borrowing amid rock-bottom interest rates.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told a briefing last night: "The reality we face is that interest rates are extraordinarily low, globally and in Singapore, and continue to add fuel to our property market.

"We have to take this further round of measures now, to check recent market trends and avoid a more serious correction in prices down the road."

Most Singaporeans buying their first home will not be affected.

The steps include raising the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) by between 5 and 7 percentage points across the board.

The duty will also now apply to more people, such as permanent residents (PRs) buying their first home and Singaporeans investing in their second residential property. For example, a Singaporean buying a second property will now have to pay 7 per cent ABSD - that's $70,000 on a $1 million home. Previously no ABSD would have been payable.

Mr Tharman also noted that some of the measures are temporary and will be reviewed "once markets cool and prices soften".

He said the heightened ABSD and the tighter loan-to-valuation limits are "exceptional measures, imposed for cyclical reasons, they are not permanent". On the other hand, measures affecting the PR owner-occupation of HDB flats and ECs are structural and for the long term.

The changes for HDB flats are aimed at moderating demand and ensuring buyers do not over-commit. Stricter loan eligibility such as capping a mortgage service ratio at 30 per cent for loans from banks is one example. Another rule bars PRs from sub-letting their entire HDB flat.

The size of each EC unit can now be no larger than 160 sq m. This will address concerns raised recently over whether the sale of mega penthouses and other luxurious units are in line with the policy of keeping them as an affordable option for middle- income Singaporeans.

A seller's stamp duty has been introduced on industrial property for the first time, at rates ranging from 5 per cent to 15 per cent.

Mr Tharman was also asked if the measures had been timed to coincide with the by-election.

He said: "We've been studying this for a few months now as we were concerned about the way the market was moving over the course of the year. We had a package ready several weeks ago, but waited for the last quarter's numbers to come out. Once the numbers came out last week, we felt we had to move.

"We were quite concerned about the re-acceleration in prices that we've seen in both the private market and the HDB resale market."

The latest flash estimates from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed private home prices rose 1.8 per cent in the fourth quarter, the fastest rise in six quarters, while HDB flat prices surged 2.5 per cent.

The Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore said it will "evaluate the impact. It is in the interest of the market to have a gradual trend in growth and value for home owners and investors in the long term".

Mr Jason Lee, 29, a management associate eyeing to invest in property, said: "I'll just hold on to my cash... the prices won't go up that much any more."

ACROSS-THE-BOARD
MEASURES

Having squeezed speculative demand out of residential market, the Government is now concerned over investment demand caused by unusually low interest rates.

ALL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

• Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty to be raised across the board by between 5 and 7 percentage points.

• ABSD to be imposed on PRs buying their first residential property and on Singaporeans buying their second property.

• Loan to value limits on housing loans will be tightened by between 10 and 20 percentage points for individuals who already have at least one outstanding loan.

• Minimum cash down payment for individuals applying for a second or subsequent housing loan to be raised from 10% to 25%.

PUBLIC HOUSING

• Tightening on the proportion of monthly income that can be used to service mortgages. The maximum proportion is now 30% for bank loans and 35% for HDB loans.

• PRs who own an HDB flat will be disallowed from subletting their whole flat.

• PRs who own an HDB flat must sell their flat after buying a private residential property in Singapore.

EXECUTIVE CONDOMINIUMS

• No more super-sized penthouses as the maximum strata floor area of new units will be capped at 160 sq metres.

• Sales of new dual-key units will be restricted to multi-generational families.

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

• Introduction of seller's stamp duty, ranging from 5% to 15%, for property sold within three years of purchase.

Scramble to beat the clock

BUYERS rushed to showflats that either opened early or kept running late into the night to allow people to beat the deadline for new cooling measures that kicked in at midnight.

The hottest ticket in town seemed to be the showflat of La Fiesta, a development that was not due to launch until Tuesday.

Hundreds of potential buyers - and jostling agents - flocked to the flat in Sengkang last night, queuing to get inside to beat the midnight deadline.

Sales manager Julia Lee was spotted outside the showflat discussing her options with her husband, while her agent was queuing for them to get in.

The couple are looking at buying a second property for investment.

There were also many agents on the phone talking about potential price appreciation, appearing to convince more clients to come down while groups of people stood around outside, apparently trying to make a decision.

Other developers, including Far East Organization and MCC Land, kept their showflats open till late while agents tried to convince prospective buyers to close deals.

Top of the news, The Strait Times, Saturday, January 12 2013, Pg A1

charlize SG

Ok.

charlize SG

Enough flats for 6 million people or not?

charlize SG

Now target is 6.9 million.

zulkifli mahmood SG

The way I see it now they should focus on the current issues of building more affordable 3 and 4 rooms BTO flats and stop building ECs or private luxury apartments to overcome the shortage of flats for low and average income earner Singaporeans.

charlize SG

Confirm prices will go higher.

M the name SG

More home owners 'decoupling' property to avoid hefty duty

Shift from co-ownership to solo lets one party buy second home ABSD-free

By ESTHER TEO
PROPERTY REPORTER

HOME owners are finding ways to reduce the amount they have to pay after hefty stamp duty increases were introduced two weeks ago.

One way is for families - say a husband and wife, or a parent and child - who bought a house together to transfer one partner's share to the other person.

This creates a sole owner and leaves the other half of the pair free to buy another home without having to pay the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD), as that purchase will be seen as his first.

The saving can be substantial. A Singaporean buying a second home will have to pay a 7 per cent ABSD, while permanent residents (PRs) pay 10 per cent.

KhattarWong managing partner Gurbachan Singh told The Straits Times that he has seen more cases where couples "decouple" their property.

The firm has fielded about 10 queries over the past fortnight, and is already acting in two or three decoupling cases.

"It's no longer co-ownership or part ownership. They want to transfer everything to one party so that the other party can buy without the burden of the ABSD.

"Although the Government says this is temporary, we don't know when it's going to be lifted, therefore given that uncertainty... people are taking pre-emptive action," he added.

But the transferring of a half share to one of the co-owners is still subject to the standard stamp duty rate of 3 per cent, as it is considered a transaction, Mr Singh noted.

KhattarWong is also taking more appeals to the taxman over the revised ABSD rates.

One aspect has to do with a will that bequeaths a property with apparent instruction for sale, so that the beneficiary receives the sale proceeds of a property rather than the property itself.

This could entail the executor of the will selling the property and distributing the proceeds to those named in the will. No tax is payable on the distribution of sale proceeds to the beneficiary.

If, however, instead of selling the property, the executor transfers the property to the beneficiary, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's (Iras) position is that stamp duty - and in turn ABSD, if applicable - should be paid, Mr Singh said.

Take a Singaporean who owns a private home, and is then left the proceeds of a property by his deceased parent.

If he opts to keep this property instead of allowing it to be sold as stated in the will, he will have to stump up 10 per cent in stamp duty based on a market valuation. This includes the standard 3 per cent and the additional 7 per cent, as it is a second home.

A PR in the same position has to pay the standard 3 per cent plus the additional 10 per cent.

If the son then sells the inherited apartment within four years, he will also be subject to the seller's stamp duty (SSD) of up to 16 per cent.

"We don't think (having ABSD or SSD levied on such inheritances) is correct, we presently have two instructions to object and to appeal against (Iras') position," Mr Singh said. "If the response from Iras is not satisfactory, we may take a court ruling for it."

Lawyers note that if the will had instructed for the physical property be handed down to the son, no stamp duty applies, thus this same rule should be applied even in these alternative cases.

Mr Singh said the new stamp duty laws are the "most radical" since 1973, when the Residential Property Act was introduced, which prevented foreigners from buying landed homes. "If you look at the ABSD, we seem to give regard to your citizenship status, and I suppose the message is that the Government's interest is to look after Singaporeans first."

Money, The Straits Times, Saturday, February 2 2013, Pg C1

charlize SG

WOT.

zulkifli mahmood SG

I just want to share some thoughts here.

In the 70s when my late parents and their children shifted from Kampung Ladang to a 5 rooms flat in a Point Block at Chai Chee, it was totally a very exciting and new experience for me and my siblings. We stayed on 17th floor and since I had never been in an elevator, I used to play with it. I entered that lift and started pressing those level buttons, going up and down. I was only a little boy and it was fun back then. My late father bought it for only S$22,000 dollars only. He got that price because he was working for the government.

Then, after my marriage in the late 80s, when I bought my first and only flat, which was a 4S (Simplified Unit Flat) 4 rooms with full floorings, it was only S$44,500 dollars only and downpayment by CPF was only 20%, for 25 years of instalment plan. I got that flat very fast. It was because at that time, the HDB had a scheme which was called the “Daily Selection” whereby they gave you a list of HDB flats that were still available in many areas. Usually, those flats available were those rejected by the buyers. All you needed to do was go and view those still vacant HDB flats and when you have decided upon which flat in which area you wish to purchase, all you needed to do was go back to the HDB office and registered that flat unit. A week later, I went to HDB office again to collect my flat keys. I went around to view those flats under the “Daily Selection” scheme without my fiance. Then after we had registered for that particular flat together under 2 ownership name, within 2 months we got married and shifted to our flat. Back in 1992 the price for my flat was only $88,000 then three years later, the price went up to S$180,000 dollars. Now, if I’m not mistaken its about $350,000 dollars.

When we first shifted to our flat, there wasn’t any bus interchange or buses or mrt station in that area. In fact, we had to walk quite a distant to get a bus to work. Then after a year or so, there was a bus interchange and there were fiddle buses. Then in the early 90s, there was a shopping mall and an mrt station.

I know if compared to the prices of HDB flats in the past, it is considered very cheap by many of you now. I think, this is due not only of high cost of building materials but also the amenities available in that area plus the shortages of HDB flats for Singaporeans. I feel that HDB should do more to help low or average income earner Singaporeans to be able to afford to buy BTO flats. I feel that HDB should build more 3 rooms BTO flats and some 4 rooms BTO flats, and lastly stop building ECs and stop sell state lands to private developers for private apartments for now. Concentrate on the urgent needs of those low or average income earner Singaporeans wanting to buy 3 rooms BTO flats.

charlize SG

Huat ah.

charlize SG

More wot.

charlize SG

Damn stressed.

charlize SG

Showflats all damn crowded.

Summer hill SG

charlize SG

Nobody +1 in sgforums now.

Huatah88 SG

Invest in property and biz overseas. Get their visa and move the hell out i say!

charlize SG

No money so how?

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