SINGAPORE — About 8 in 10 families who collected their resale flat keys in 2023 could service their monthly loan instalments using their Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings, with little to no cash outlay.
The Ministry of National Development (MND) said this on Tuesday (Aug 6) in a written answer to a parliamentary question from Bishan-Toa Payoh Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Member of Parliament (MP) Saktiandi Supaat, adding that the majority of resale flats remain within reach for Singaporeans.
Mr Saktiandi had asked:
Whether the breaking of the Housing and Development (HDB) resale price record three times in the past three months was a concern that MND was looking into
Whether the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model is driving up the resale prices of non-PLH flats in choicer locations
Whether MND is considering imposing a cap on HDB transaction prices so that HDB flats remain fair and accessible to all Singaporeans.
His question comes after a five-room HDB flat was sold in a resale transaction for S$1.7 million in July, making it the third time in as many months that the record price for a resale flat was broken.
In its reply to Mr Saktiandi, MND said resale transactions with high prices continue to make up a small minority of total resale transactions.
Of these high-price transactions, about a third are for maisonettes and Jumbo flats, which are much larger than most flats and have limited supply, it noted, and more than 70 per cent of the remaining units are five-room flats with very good locational attributes, high floors, and/or very long remaining leases.
For four-room and smaller flats at the higher end of transacted prices, they are predominantly located in four HDB estates in or very near to the city centre, so they are very central, and are well served by transport connectivity and comprehensive amenities, MND added.
More than half of these smaller flats are also located on very high floors, above 30 storeys, and have good facing and views, the ministry said.
"So they come with very attractive attributes, and make up just 0.5 per cent of all four-room or smaller flats transacted in the last two years."
As for whether the PLH model is driving up the resale prices of non-PLH flats in choicer locations, MND responded that there has been no conclusive evidence for it so far.
The PLH model applies to flats located in prime and central locations. Among other rules under the model, such flats come with a minimum occupation period (MOP) of 10 years, and when the owners sell the flats, they must return 6 per cent of the resale price or valuation, whichever is higher, to HDB.
MND noted it has been less than three years since the PLH model was launched and there are still a few more years before the first of the PLH flats hit the resale market, so the ministry will continue to monitor closely.
MND added that while the resale market has risen in the last few years, "we should not expect housing prices to go up indefinitely'.
"History has taught us that the property market moves in cycles. In a time of market exuberance, prospective buyers should be extra careful, because those who buy high will also be harder hit when the market eventually comes down. We encourage buyers to consider the wide variety of housing options available, and exercise prudence in their flat purchase."
MND also pointed to various steps it has taken to temper prices in the property market, including three rounds of cooling measures since December 2021 and significantly ramping up the supply of Build-to-Order flats.
https://www.todayonline.com/news/8-10-resale-loan-cpf-2473486
