How much do HDB flats actually cost?

[singveld]

Mind your language, dear moniker. Singapore has come a long way since independence, from very very low home ownership to more than 90% ownership. Few countries can boast that in the world. Naturally, with limited land and high ownership rates, prices will go up and our building designs and construction are worldclass, thus deserving high free market valuation. Your estimation is totally inaccurate.

99 yr lease, high cost and use cpf money to buy hdb flats mean it does not belong to you.

you just lease from pap. pap own your flats.

if you think that is home ownership??? greatly mistaken, and it is a property bubble waiting to burst.

 

[The_Latest_H]

Just like how they inflated food prices in Singapore, the figures they state for the pricing of HDB flats sounds inflated as well.

 

[Big Sexy]

hey yo... didnt bother to read the article.. but as far as i am concern.. HDB is a mega rip off...

u r required to pay interest for using your own CPF money to rent a hole for a max term of 99 years... u dont even own it..


only fools rush in to buy something like that...

 

[kiwibird7]

66%: U're LYING!

http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=91485&fm=newsmain,nup

15 October 2008
A new home ownership scheme has been announced by Labour, aiming to get more people into their first home.

Prime Minister Helen Clark has announced details of the scheme on a public estate development in West Auckland this afternoon.

Under the scheme, the homeowner will pay for their new house to be built, but the Crown will own the land. Miss Clark says the plan will dramatically lower the cost of home ownership. She says 1,500 sites will be made available over the next four years.

The scheme effectively makes the government leaseholders. It has been targeted towards low income families and follows on from the Shared Equity and Welcome Home schemes.

Therefore, HDB should NOT factor in the landcosts because the LAND does not really belong to the HDB dwellers but is technically state land. HDB dwellers occupy only the AIRSPACE over the land.

The artificially inflated HDB prices only serve to suck dry the CPF accounts of new applicants and burden them with hefty mortgages that will leave very little cash funds in their CPF accounts upon retirement.

Their ability to 'benefit' from the downgrading to a smaller flat will only result if there are ready buyers (young married couples planning a family) for the old, less than desirable 4/5 room flats which have probably less than 65 yrs of leasehold left.

Will there be ready buyers by that time as S'pore has less than replacement fertility levels and an overall aging population? There will be a large pool of old people downgrading to 3 room flats and few young people to buy over the larger but older 4/5 room flats. In short it will be a buyers market and prices by then would be severely depressed.

The retirees would be faced with a triple whammy of
1. No takers for their overpriced, old flats with a reduced tenure of lease probably less than 65 yrs left
2. hardly any cash in their CPF accounts.
3. What ever cash present in the CPF would have been DRASTICALLY eaten away by the rate of inflation.

 

[Nice-Gook]

The supposed land value of 4 room HDB flats is VERY HIGH considering that at least 12 units or more of flats piled one on top of another sit on the same plot of land (approx 100 Sq M) that nobody really owns but leases.

The trick is in the pricing of land cost.Building costs can easily be determined.Its no secret.Understand the building cost of an average 4 room HDB flat is around 50K.

At the infant stage this government acquired by force large tracks of residential and farmland and paid the owners a token sum of $1/only.Those were the days when a unit from HDB was priced around $7k or so.Leegime still holds a large amount of these lands or will eventually owns them when 99 years lease expires.But mostly almost all HDB flats are again forcefully acquired after 30 years of lease under en-block or SERS.

The land perpetually belongs to Leegime.

And leegime artificially inflat the land cost by tweaking the market force.It does this by encouraging private developers to bid for lands side by side HDB flats.And thus a comparison of prices are made by valuers between these private apartments and HDB flats sitting side by side in sq ft terms.

 

[Nice-Gook]

The retirees would be faced with a triple whammy of
1. No takers for their overpriced, old flats with a reduced tenure of lease probably less than 65 yrs left
2. hardly any cash in their CPF accounts.
3. What ever cash present in the CPF would have been DRASTICALLY eaten away by the rate of inflation.

Very well said.Worse when a person reaches 55 years of age.As he or she has to maintain an ever increasing minimum sum in CASH in CPF.

So theoretically even if a retiree has made an immense profit by selling his old HDB flat.He or she is not going to see any cash in hand.All locked in CPF.Which is ONLY good f he or she buys another obscenely inflated new or resale HDB flat.

A perpetual debt-trap in perpetuity.

The local version of subprime scenario.

 

[Nice-Gook]

The supposed land value of 4 room HDB flats is VERY HIGH considering that at least 12 units or more of flats piled one on top of another sit on the same plot of land (approx 100 Sq M) that nobody really owns but leases.

The trick is in the pricing of land cost.Building costs can easily be determined.Its no secret.Understand the building cost of an average 4 room HDB flat is around 50K.

At the infant stage this government acquired by force large tracks of residential and farmland and paid the owners a token sum of $1/only.Those were the days when a unit from HDB was priced around $7k or so.Leegime still holds a large amount of these lands or will eventually owns them when 99 years lease expires.But mostly almost all HDB flats are again forcefully acquired after 30 years of lease under en-block or SERS.

The land perpetually belongs to Leegime.

And leegime artificially inflat the land cost by tweaking the market force.It does this by encouraging private developers to bid for lands side by side HDB flats.And thus a comparison of prices are made by valuers between these private apartments and HDB flats sitting side by side in sq ft terms.

 

[Cestbon]

The trick is in the pricing of land cost.Building costs can easily be determined.Its no secret.Understand the building cost of an average 4 room HDB flat is around 50K.

At the infant stage this government acquired by force large tracks of residential and farmland and paid the owners a token sum of $1/only.Those were the days when a unit from HDB was priced around $7k or so.Leegime still holds a large amount of these lands or will eventually owns them when 99 years lease expires.But mostly almost all HDB flats are again forcefully acquired after 30 years of lease under en-block or SERS.

The land perpetually belongs to Leegime.

And leegime artificially inflat the land cost by tweaking the market force.It does this by encouraging private developers to bid for lands side by side HDB flats.And thus a comparison of prices are made by valuers between these private apartments and HDB flats sitting side by side in sq ft terms.

Agree with you 4 room flat cost about $50K max included material and labour cost. But many not believe me ask I have said 4 room flat cost $40K without any renovation eg. flooring, light....
So HDB selling $300K that mean land value is $250K~$260K/unit with consider very expensive since now new HDB now is about 20 storey high which mean each plot land of 4 room flat size cost $250K*20= $5M for a land size about 900sqf. So that is how much gov. profit from selling HDB.

 

[lifeafter41]

The trick is in the pricing of land cost.Building costs can easily be determined.Its no secret.Understand the building cost of an average 4 room HDB flat is around 50K.

At the infant stage this government acquired by force large tracks of residential and farmland and paid the owners a token sum of $1/only.Those were the days when a unit from HDB was priced around $7k or so.Leegime still holds a large amount of these lands or will eventually owns them when 99 years lease expires.But mostly almost all HDB flats are again forcefully acquired after 30 years of lease under en-block or SERS.

The land perpetually belongs to Leegime.

And leegime artificially inflat the land cost by tweaking the market force.It does this by encouraging private developers to bid for lands side by side HDB flats.And thus a comparison of prices are made by valuers between these private apartments and HDB flats sitting side by side in sq ft terms.

There is no trick here, as long as you have the HDB stating and using the term market subsidy, the only way to go for HDB prices is up.

If you have noticed, every time a new batch of flats is being sold and if the resale market price is used as a bench mark, the priced flats would always be higher, albeit lower than resale, but higher that those that was release 1 year ago. That is the termed so called market subsidy coming into play. It means HDB has effective subsidised the flats.

Very magical isn't it. Isn't this the building up of an asset bubble. The problem is when subsequent buyers pay for the new flat, it is definitely going to be higher, bigger loans quantum, longer term.

 

[DerekLeung]

We never own a HDB Flat. We only lease it from HDB for 99 years. If i own it, can i tell the them not to tear down my blk. Look at those flat that use to be at cantonment road. Tear down and build new one which price at 600k or more. So, we never own HDB flat. They can buy your HDB and tear it down when they think they can make more money.

1. Singaporeans don't think much critically when spending / buying housing .
   
2. Renovation of 50k-100k on a Pigeon hole what are they thinking. Not much else for the rest of the economy since everyone is doing the same long term home-loan .Everyone does the same.
   
3. Spending 200K-400K over-time is no-no. Not because everyone is buying. You have to sucumb to herd-pressure.

 

[DerekLeung]

Does banks control valuation or HDB ?

 

[Naruto777]

Agree with you 4 room flat cost about $50K max included material and labour cost. But many not believe me ask I have said 4 room flat cost $40K without any renovation eg. flooring, light....
So HDB selling $300K that mean land value is $250K~$260K/unit with consider very expensive since now new HDB now is about 20 storey high which mean each plot land of 4 room flat size cost $250K*20= $5M for a land size about 900sqf. So that is how much gov. profit from selling HDB.

Can't agree more with you. One worksite at fernvale drive, maincon went bust. It was 65mil project for building 660 units of 4 and 5 rooms, hall marble, rooms all parquet somemore, full height window and one MSCP with roof garden. People, go divide yourself and you will no roughly how much construction per unit on average cost.

 

[Nice-Gook]

Agree with you 4 room flat cost about $50K max included material and labour cost. But many not believe me ask I have said 4 room flat cost $40K without any renovation eg. flooring, light....
So HDB selling $300K that mean land value is $250K~$260K/unit with consider very expensive since now new HDB now is about 20 storey high which mean each plot land of 4 room flat size cost $250K*20= $5M for a land size about 900sqf. So that is how much gov. profit from selling HDB.

Yup.Leegime these days builds HDB flats higher and higher to increase its profitability by increasing the utility of the same piece of land.So called subdues are simply craps.I personally think anything above 25 storeys for HDB is both a health-hazard and costly to maintain.Unlike private apartments which are built 30 storeys and higher; public housing like HDB built 25 stories and above endangers your health especially the elderly since the oxygen level gets lower.Moreover higher stories are more exposed to wind and etc and burns a hole in your pocket because of higher PUB bills for maintenance.Further,since very high HDBs are built in central busy districts the noise level increases the higher the units.

HDB is simply aping the private developers at the expense of heratlanders.

 

[Nice-Gook]

If you have noticed, every time a new batch of flats is being sold and if the resale market price is used as a bench mark, the priced flats would always be higher, albeit lower than resale, but higher that those that was release 1 year ago. That is the termed so called market subsidy coming into play. It means HDB has effective subsidised the flats.

.

The reason being every time a HDB is valued for resale the valuer also add the previous cash component paid for a similar unit.This is the vicious cycle.Prices for HDB goes up but never comes down since the valuation of resale flats takes into account of the extra cash paid by the last transaction.

So here we have a situation say for sentimental reason you pay an extra 100k cash on top of the valuation for a unit.Your neighbour's unit automatically increases by another 100k if valued after you had bought.

Its a vicious cycle.

 

[DrPanacea]

HDB flats actually cost much less than what they make the citizens pay.
The accounting in HDB value the cost of land at current market price and not book value. So the flat is sold with a higher land price than it really is. This goes against the accounting principle of prudency.
In this way the gahmen can claim that they have subsidised the flat for Sporeans....what a load of baloney.
I am sure this forum would like to hear the views of accountants out there.

 

[makapaaa]

99 yr lease, high cost and use cpf money to buy hdb flats mean it does not belong to you.

you just lease from pap. pap own your flats.

if you think that is home ownership??? greatly mistaken, and it is a property bubble waiting to burst.

Not only that. Asked ur kakis working in HDB and u'd realize that the truth of the situation is very grim in that the no. of Peasants defaulting on their pigeonhole payment and being heartlessly evicted is SHOCKING. Dun expect the 154th to tell leeport it though.

 

[makapaaa]

The reason being every time a HDB is valued for resale the valuer also add the previous cash component paid for a similar unit.This is the vicious cycle.Prices for HDB goes up but never comes down since the valuation of resale flats takes into account of the extra cash paid by the last transaction.

So here we have a situation say for sentimental reason you pay an extra 100k cash on top of the valuation for a unit.Your neighbour's unit automatically increases by another 100k if valued after you had bought.

Its a vicious cycle.

Sounds like some illiquid CDO market that has landed the world in its current state of affair.

 

[TeeKee]

it depends on whether do you include the land cost or not.

how can you include the land cost?

it's not freehold you know...

 

[TeeKee]

That does not include land for carparks since that is a separate
charge as HDB did state that non-car owners should not be subsidized
by car owners.

car owners have to pay for parking too!! there's no such things as free parking!!

 

[Neh_Neh_Pok]

car owners have to pay for parking too!! there's no such things as free parking!!

Of cos have to pay parking, even you go to your church to listen to your pestors and park your kar there also need to pay what