HDB to offer 3,000 new flats to meet demand
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is taking steps to increase the supply of flats amid growing demand.
It said yesterday it plans to offer 3,000 new flats under the ‘built-to-order’ (BTO) system in the second half of this year. This means it builds flats only when there is sufficient demand.
The HDB is also working on a pilot project to lease vacated flats under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) to the public in the short term.
Next month, the HDB will call a tender for a managing agent to lease out 120 vacated Sers flats in Blocks 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 at Tiong Bahru Road.
Depending on the response, the HDB will decide whether to expand the scheme. It has a potential supply of about 4,000 to 5,000 such units for rental over the next three years, it said.
Regular updates will also be given on the number of upcoming flats under the BTO system for six-month periods. This is to help buyers in the planning stages gauge the level of supply in the market.
The information will be updated on a quarterly basis. The HDB said it might adjust its building programme to meet demand if the need arises.
For the first time, new data on the number of approved flats available for rent according to different flat types was released.
The number of approved flats jumped 50 per cent to 3,600 in the second quarter from 2,400 in the first.
There are currently 14,600 approved flats for rent in the market.
Since the HDB relaxed its subletting policy in March, the number of eligible flats for rent in the market has reached 645,000.
FINALLY, A DOSE OF REALISM
‘This will help everyone be more realistic, and has definitely come at the right time.’
TENANT S.T. LENG, 41, whose landlord recently hiked the rent of his three-room flat from $900 to $1,500 due to ‘market rates’, saying the new information will give tenants and buyers more negotiating power
THE MORE WE KNOW, THE BETTER
‘Consumers will increasingly want such fine-tuned data and transparency will become more crucial in the market.’ PROPNEX CHIEF EXECUTIVE MOHAMED ISMAIL
Source : Straits Times - 28 Jul 2007
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