Homepage
PR Newswire
17-06-2011, 06:13 AM
You mean they only discovered this NOW? What happened to all the previous research and the fact that the ceiling was frozen for so long? 
(Someone was sleeping on the job??)
Jun 17, 2011
New flat buyers are older, earn more
Khaw says this makes a case to raise HDB's salary cap for applicants
By Jessica Cheam & Daryl Chin
A CLEARER picture emerged yesterday about the people in the queue to buy new Housing Board (HDB) flats.
Couples who are engaged or already married and applying to buy for the first time are now older, and many hope to live near their parents.
Fresh information from HDB on the profile of buyers spurred National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan to give the strongest hint yet that the income ceiling for those buying new flats - which has been unchanged for the last 17 years - will be raised.
Writing in his blog yesterday, he said there was a strong case for raising the income ceiling, given that today's first-time applicants are older than before and likely to be earning more too.
At present, a couple's combined monthly income must be below $8,000 to qualify for a new HDB flat.
Mr Khaw's predecessor, Mr Mah Bow Tan, had indicated earlier this year that the next time the income cap is raised, it could be to $10,000.
Mr Khaw also noted that two in five first-time applicants wanted to live near their parents, and this underscored the need to build as many homes as possible within mature HDB estates.
In his post, entitled 'Know Our Customers', he said: 'The first rule of good customer service is to know our customers. Who are they? What are their needs?'
To this end, he had asked for the figures from HDB after overseeing his first launch of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats last month - 3,957 homes in Tampines, Pasir Ris, Punggol and Woodlands.
BTO projects, HDB's main conduit for new flats, are typically built when a certain demand level is reached. Last month's launch of nearly 4,000 units pulled in almost 14,000 applications - making the homes 31/2 times oversubscribed.
It was a reflection of the sustained demand for public housing, which emerged as a hot topic in the recent general election.
The unhappiness among home buyers came from either being priced out of the HDB market, or from repeated failure in balloting for a flat.
Currently, 95 per cent of flats in BTO launches are reserved for first-timers.
The numbers yesterday showed that two-thirds or 65 per cent of all applicants were first-timers; the remaining 35 per cent were buying homes for the second time.
The Ministry of National Development told The Straits Times that these proportions were similar to BTOs launched in recent months.
Mr Khaw noted that among all first-timers, more than half had applied under HDB's Fiance-Fiancee Scheme. The median age for this group was 27. The median age of the remaining applicants - those already married - was even higher, at 34.
'There is therefore justification to revise the HDB income ceiling, given the rising age of applicants,' he said.
Turning to those who have been unsuccessful in balloting for a flat, Mr Khaw noted that the situation has improved somewhat, although 'we have much work to do still'.
In the May launch, 45 per cent of the applicants had been unsuccessful in previous attempts. In the previous quarter, the figure was 60 per cent.
Reacting to the figures, PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said: 'Home buyers who failed to get their flats will be able to see that there are many others facing a similar plight. It makes the process more transparent.'
Dennis Wee Group director Chris Koh said the information confirmed his agency's observation that young couples are busting the income ceiling as salaries have gone up.
If the ceiling were raised, it would make sense to also consider raising that for higher-end flats, such as executive condominiums and HDB's Design, Build and Sell Scheme.
Key executive officer of C&H Properties Albert Lu said application numbers were likely to stay high, especially if HDB starts offering flats in mature estates.
This will certainly temper the prices of resale flats, he said.
Mr Khaw said yesterday that HDB is processing the applications and that he will analyse the profiles of successful applicants when that is complete.
'I am sure the analysis will provide further insight,' he said.
jcheam@sph.com.sg
darylc@sph.com.sg
---------------------------------------------------
Couple applying for the 13th time.
REAL estate agent Elyn Tan has helped others land their dream homes but has yet to hit her own 'home' run.
The 27-year-old and her husband, who is her age and also a property agent, have applied 13 times for Housing Board flats, of which 10 were Build-to-Order (BTO) types and the rest Sales of Balance units.
'Many times, I've seen my friends bid successfully and wondered if we were just unlucky,' she said.
The couple are currently living separately with their respective parents.
Stories like Ms Tan's have cropped up occasionally in the media as home buyers complain of repeated failed attempts at securing a flat through the HDB's selection process.
Yesterday, the HDB offered a glimpse of just how big this group was.
Among the 14,000 applicants for the last BTO exercise in areas like Punggol, Pasir Ris, Tampines and Woodlands, 14 per cent had applied for three or more previous BTO exercises in the last year.
Of these, one-third had a chance to select a flat but did not do so for reasons of their own.
This means that the other two-thirds never had the chance to select a flat in repeated BTO exercises.
'I am... conscious of the frustrations and anxiety of those who did not have a chance to select at all,' wrote National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in his blog entry.
'I am ramping up BTO launches to try and ease this problem.
'Meanwhile, my advice is that they try less mature estates to improve on their odds.'
Mr Khaw also hinted that there might be an income ceiling revision - which is currently a monthly household income of $8,000 - in the works.
Ms Tan said she was very heartened to hear this.
'The older we get, the more worried we are of breaching the income ceiling, and not getting our dream home altoge-ther.'
DARYL CHIN
(Someone was sleeping on the job??)Jun 17, 2011
New flat buyers are older, earn more
Khaw says this makes a case to raise HDB's salary cap for applicants
By Jessica Cheam & Daryl Chin
A CLEARER picture emerged yesterday about the people in the queue to buy new Housing Board (HDB) flats.
Couples who are engaged or already married and applying to buy for the first time are now older, and many hope to live near their parents.
Fresh information from HDB on the profile of buyers spurred National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan to give the strongest hint yet that the income ceiling for those buying new flats - which has been unchanged for the last 17 years - will be raised.
Writing in his blog yesterday, he said there was a strong case for raising the income ceiling, given that today's first-time applicants are older than before and likely to be earning more too.
At present, a couple's combined monthly income must be below $8,000 to qualify for a new HDB flat.
Mr Khaw's predecessor, Mr Mah Bow Tan, had indicated earlier this year that the next time the income cap is raised, it could be to $10,000.
Mr Khaw also noted that two in five first-time applicants wanted to live near their parents, and this underscored the need to build as many homes as possible within mature HDB estates.
In his post, entitled 'Know Our Customers', he said: 'The first rule of good customer service is to know our customers. Who are they? What are their needs?'
To this end, he had asked for the figures from HDB after overseeing his first launch of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats last month - 3,957 homes in Tampines, Pasir Ris, Punggol and Woodlands.
BTO projects, HDB's main conduit for new flats, are typically built when a certain demand level is reached. Last month's launch of nearly 4,000 units pulled in almost 14,000 applications - making the homes 31/2 times oversubscribed.
It was a reflection of the sustained demand for public housing, which emerged as a hot topic in the recent general election.
The unhappiness among home buyers came from either being priced out of the HDB market, or from repeated failure in balloting for a flat.
Currently, 95 per cent of flats in BTO launches are reserved for first-timers.
The numbers yesterday showed that two-thirds or 65 per cent of all applicants were first-timers; the remaining 35 per cent were buying homes for the second time.
The Ministry of National Development told The Straits Times that these proportions were similar to BTOs launched in recent months.
Mr Khaw noted that among all first-timers, more than half had applied under HDB's Fiance-Fiancee Scheme. The median age for this group was 27. The median age of the remaining applicants - those already married - was even higher, at 34.
'There is therefore justification to revise the HDB income ceiling, given the rising age of applicants,' he said.
Turning to those who have been unsuccessful in balloting for a flat, Mr Khaw noted that the situation has improved somewhat, although 'we have much work to do still'.
In the May launch, 45 per cent of the applicants had been unsuccessful in previous attempts. In the previous quarter, the figure was 60 per cent.
Reacting to the figures, PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said: 'Home buyers who failed to get their flats will be able to see that there are many others facing a similar plight. It makes the process more transparent.'
Dennis Wee Group director Chris Koh said the information confirmed his agency's observation that young couples are busting the income ceiling as salaries have gone up.
If the ceiling were raised, it would make sense to also consider raising that for higher-end flats, such as executive condominiums and HDB's Design, Build and Sell Scheme.
Key executive officer of C&H Properties Albert Lu said application numbers were likely to stay high, especially if HDB starts offering flats in mature estates.
This will certainly temper the prices of resale flats, he said.
Mr Khaw said yesterday that HDB is processing the applications and that he will analyse the profiles of successful applicants when that is complete.
'I am sure the analysis will provide further insight,' he said.
jcheam@sph.com.sg
darylc@sph.com.sg
---------------------------------------------------
Couple applying for the 13th time.
REAL estate agent Elyn Tan has helped others land their dream homes but has yet to hit her own 'home' run.
The 27-year-old and her husband, who is her age and also a property agent, have applied 13 times for Housing Board flats, of which 10 were Build-to-Order (BTO) types and the rest Sales of Balance units.
'Many times, I've seen my friends bid successfully and wondered if we were just unlucky,' she said.
The couple are currently living separately with their respective parents.
Stories like Ms Tan's have cropped up occasionally in the media as home buyers complain of repeated failed attempts at securing a flat through the HDB's selection process.
Yesterday, the HDB offered a glimpse of just how big this group was.
Among the 14,000 applicants for the last BTO exercise in areas like Punggol, Pasir Ris, Tampines and Woodlands, 14 per cent had applied for three or more previous BTO exercises in the last year.
Of these, one-third had a chance to select a flat but did not do so for reasons of their own.
This means that the other two-thirds never had the chance to select a flat in repeated BTO exercises.
'I am... conscious of the frustrations and anxiety of those who did not have a chance to select at all,' wrote National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in his blog entry.
'I am ramping up BTO launches to try and ease this problem.
'Meanwhile, my advice is that they try less mature estates to improve on their odds.'
Mr Khaw also hinted that there might be an income ceiling revision - which is currently a monthly household income of $8,000 - in the works.
Ms Tan said she was very heartened to hear this.
'The older we get, the more worried we are of breaching the income ceiling, and not getting our dream home altoge-ther.'
DARYL CHIN
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/