THE Government yesterday launched three mass market residential sites for sale and cut from six to five years the time developers have to complete a housing project.

The sites – in Hougang Avenue 7, at the corner of Punggol Drive and Punggol East, and the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Pasir Ris Drive 4 – are expected to yield about 1,260 units. Their tenders close separately next month.

The three 99-year leasehold plots are the first to have the new five-year project completion period for private residential sale sites applied to them.

From today, all such sites released for sale will have to conform to the new rule, which is to ‘further ensure more timely supply of private housing to meet demand’, said the Housing Board in a statement yesterday.

Experts believe the change – it does not apply to executive condominium (EC) sites which have to be built in four years – will not have a major impact on the market.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han said: ‘In a peak market like now, it’s not a problem at all. Developers usually take three to four years to build a mass market condo.

‘It’s just a precautionary measure. The Government just wants to ensure that what has been tendered out will be completed in five years, so that supply can meet demand.’

Experts note that few developers want to take too long to build on leasehold sites.

‘Based on development trends in the last eight years, we found that the actual completion period for sale sites for private residential developments was generally about four years on average,’ said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Only about 13 per cent of these projects took longer than five years to complete, it said.

Prior to 1997, the project completion period for government residential sites was four to five years. It was extended to eight years in late 1997 due to the then economic crisis, said the URA.

This was cut to six years in 1999 and has remained so, although the Government in last year’s Budget allowed developers to apply to extend completion periods by up to one year with applications having to be made by Jan 21 this year.

Of the sites launched yesterday, the Hougang plot is 15,630 sq m in size with a maximum gross floor area of 43,765 sq m.

The Punggol site is 15,700 sq m in size with an allowable gross floor area of 53,380 sq m. It is earmarked for executive condos and is near Kadaloor LRT station.

The Pasir Ris plot is a short distance from NTUC Downtown East, has a site area of some 20,000 sq m and an allowable gross floor area of 42,000 sq m.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer Nicholas Mak predicted that the sites would attract less aggressive bids given that they are not near MRT stations.

The Hougang site may attract bids of $320-$370 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), while the one at Pasir Ris may garner bids of $350-$390 psf ppr, he said. The Punggol EC plot, being in a new estate, may draw bids of $250-$290 psf ppr, added Mr Mak.

Source: Straits Times, 5 Aug 2010

THREE HUDC estates comprising 797 flats in Hougang and Potong Pasir have been given the green light to privatise.

Two of the estates are in Hougang North – blocks 344 to 350 in Hougang Avenue 7 and blocks 713 to 720 in Hougang Avenue 2. The other covers blocks 110 to 112 in Potong Pasir Avenue 1.

The homes are all in opposition wards represented either by Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang of the Workers’ Party or Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong of the Singapore People’s Party.

Privatisation means HUDC residents become owners of their units as well as the common property, and so have better control over the running of their estate. They will also no longer be subject to HDB’s housing policies such as having to seek approval to sublet their flats.

This is the seventh batch of HUDC estate privatisations and will allow home owners to enjoy price gains, experts say.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said prices of homes in the HUDC estates might go up an estimated 20 per cent once the privatisation process is complete.

‘Residents will have control of their estate and can improve facilities such as introducing a security system… There’s also an enhanced lifestyle and image,’ he said.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) said the estates were selected as residents had registered an interest in going private.

The privatisation costs that lessees might incur – there are legal and survey fees, for example – will be capped at $30,000 per flat for three years from Aug 2. The Government will absorb the difference if costs exceed the cap. But residents must acquire 75 per cent support for privatisation within this three-year period.

After that, privatisation costs will be adjusted to account for the prevailing redevelopment potential of the land.

The three estates can now form committees of resident representatives to garner support for the privatisation and liaise with involved parties such as the HDB.

Once the 75 per cent support is obtained, residents can lodge a Strata Titles Application with the Registry of Titles so they can get subsidiary strata certificates of title for their flats.

The process of legal transfer of title from HDB to the flat owners will take about 21/2 years, the MND said. Once the conversion to strata titles has been done, residents will have to form a management council to run and maintain the estate.

A Potong Pasir resident, who did not want to be named, said he was glad his estate was finally chosen for the conversion. ‘I’ve been living here for about 25 years… We see others getting privatised and we ask ourselves when it’ll be our turn. At last we’ve got that chance.’

HUDC flats were built in the 1970s and 1980s as an option for middle-income families, but were phased out in 1987 as demand declined. Privatisation began in 1995 in response to the rising aspirations of Singaporeans to own private housing.

All but the Braddell View HUDC estate have been privatised or identified for privatisation. The MND said as that estate was developed in two phases, the issue of lease harmonisation has to be resolved before the estate can be privatised.

Source: Straits Times, 31 Jul 2010

New covered linkways, new windows and grilles in homes possible

SOME 54,000 households in Hougang, Tampines and Pasir Ris can look forward to new amenities in their neighbourhoods with upgrading works now under way.

The improvements could include new covered linkways, car porches and upgrading of children’s playgrounds.

Residents may also get upgrades to their flats, such as new waterproofing for their bathroom floors, and new windows and grilles.

No target completion date has been given for the works but the Government has set aside an extra $550 million for the three HDB towns under the Main Upgrading, Interim Upgrading and Lift Upgrading programmes.

As long as the Government had the financial resources, it would continue to rejuvenate housing estates, said Deputy Prime Minister and adviser to Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC grassroots organisation Teo Chee Hean yesterday. He was speaking at the launch of a community roadshow in Tampines Central to cap HDB’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Tampines, Hougang and Pasir Ris are mature towns that were developed in the 1980s and early 1990s. Together with the newer towns of Sengkang and Punggol, they are home to 197,100 flats, about 22 per cent of the total number of HDB homes in Singapore.

Some $540 million has already been spent to improve amenities for more than 67,000 households in the three towns.

Of the extra $550 million, around $263 million will go towards estates in Tampines; $180 million to Hougang and $107 million to Pasir Ris.

Mr Teo, noting how the three housing estates have transformed over the years into modern and bustling towns, said commercial and other social facilities will also be upgraded to keep up with renewed residential areas.

For example, six sites in Tampines and Hougang have benefited from HDB’s Revitalisation of Shops Scheme (ROS) to increase the vibrancy and competitiveness of shops in the heartland.

Under the scheme, HDB provides partial funding for shopkeepers to spruce up their shopfronts and carry out promotions to attract more customers. The scheme will be extended to seven more sites in the two estates.

Loyang Point shopping centre in Pasir Ris will also be revamped at the end of the year.

Long-time residents welcomed the improvements to their neighbourhoods and shopping areas.

Mr Lee Kam Mun, who has lived in Tampines Central since 1998, said residents have got a lot out of the upgrading programmes.

Said the 42-year-old terminal manager in the oil and gas industry: ‘We have a nicer outlook in the estate. You come back and feel relaxed. There are also more common areas that encourage us to meet and make friends with neighbours.’

Source: Straits Times, 26 Jul 2010