Large chuck of this loss is coming from "account for foreseeable loss" which is market value of flats in the area minus what they sold the flat to you for. Note the huge increase 2008 to 2009. Part of that is due to more flats sold but part of that is due to prices of property in the surrounding area.
Provision for foreseeable loss/unrealised loss for properties under development/for sale:
2008/2009 2007/2008
1,236,944,000 783,757,000
I wonder how they come up with this loss figure. Lets say they sell you a new flat in Sengkang for $200K. A resale unit there goes for $350K. HDB then say they lost $150K per flat because they are selling below market value.
But my question is how they measure market value (from an investor's point of view)? Did they factor in that the new flat cannot be sold or rented out for 5 years!! At a rental rate of $1.8K per month that is a loss of $108K. Did they factor this when comparing with market value. You need to compare free market to free market.
Then you have the vesting period of 5 years. There is a cost to not being able to sell you flat. Even if market prices are $150K more than your new flat, if you sell before 5 years, HDB probably gives you back your initial investment money. Will HDB pay you back the "gain" in the market value of your flat? I do not think so.
Then if HDB takes into account private condo prices, do they factor in parking? Most condos come with 1 reserved parking space. If you PV $90/month for 30 years, how much is that parking space worth? $40K perhaps?
So how do they compare with market value to calculate this discount on the flat.