A whole bunch of changes in rules were made during the National Day Rally 2010. It affects both HDB and private property owners.
Here is a summary of the changes:
1. If you buy a HDB resale flat now with no HDB loan or grant, you now have to occupy it for 5 years before you can sell your flat.
(Previously, you need only occupy the unit for 3 years.)
2. Households earning $8k-$10k now eligible for DBSS, and $30k CPF housing grant. Must take private bank loan.
3. 16,000 more new flats will be offered this year, and up to 22,000 next year, pending demand.
4. BTO flat owners can now collect their keys 6 months earlier. This means they need only wait 2.5 years for their new flat, versus the current 3 years.
5. Private property owners who buy resale HDB flats must now dispose of their private property within six months of purchase. This is to prevent private property owners from buying HDB resale flats for investment purposes.
(Previously, private property owners need not dispose of their private property, if their HDB is primary residence.)
6. All buyers of HDB flats now have to meet 5 year minimum occupation period (MOP) before reselling the flat or before they can invest in private property.
(Previously, resale flat buyers who have not taken a HDB grant or HDB loan can buy private property for investment immediately, and sell their HDB flat after 3 years)
7. Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) is now applicable to any seller who sell their property within the 1st 3 years. (HDB sales are not affected due to MOP of 3 or 5 years).
- (A) SSD is calculated as:
- 1% for first $180,000
- 2% for next $180,000
- 3% for balance.
(B) If property sold within:
- 1st year = Full SSD
- 2nd year = 2/3 SSD
- 3rd year = 1/3 SSD
8. If you have an outstanding housing loan and wish to buy a second property, a 30% downpayment is now needed (at least 10% cash, with balance payable with CPF). Those with no outstanding housing loan, 20% downpayment remains.
See complete news for more details:
- More help for first timers (link)
- HDB to raise income ceiling (link)
- HDB market set to cool (link)
- MND announces measures (link
Tags: Day-to-day Issues, hdb, Housing, investment, on the news
1. Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) is now applicable to any seller who sell their property within the 1st 3 years. (HDB sales are not affected due to MOP of 3 or 5 years).
2. SSD is calculated as:
- 1% for first $180,000
- 2% for next $180,000
- 3% for balance.
3. If property sold within:
- 1st year = Full SSD
- 2nd year = 2/3 SSD
- 3rd year = 1/3 SSD
4. If you have an outstanding housing loan and wish to buy a second property, a 30% downpayment is now needed (at least 10% cash, with balance payable with CPF). Those with no outstanding housing loan, 20% downpayment remains.
THE Ministry of National Development (MND) announced on Monday several measures that would maintain a ’stable and sustainable’ property market, that will take place with immediate effect.
In a statement issued on Monday morning, MND said it would increase the holding period for the imposition of Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) on residential properties sold from one year to three years.
The SSD levied will vary according to the term of occupancy. If the property is sold in the first year of purchase, the full SSD will be levied – one per cent for the first $180,000 of the consideration, two per cent for the next $180,000, and three per cent for the balance. Two-thirds of the SSD will be levied for properties sold in the second year of occupancy and one-third for properties sold in the third year of occupancy.
The extended SSD will not affect HDB lessees as the required Minimum Occupation Period for HDB flats is at least 3 years.
For property buyers with outstanding housing loans, the Minimum Cash Payment has been increased from five per cent to ten per cent of the valuation limit. This measure is applied only to buyers of private residential properties, Executive Condominiums, HUDC flats and HDB flats (including those under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme) who are taking housing loans from MAS-regulated financial institutions who already have one or more outstanding housing loans.
For this group, the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit has been lowered from 80 per cent to 70 per cent. Borrowers who do not have any outstanding housing loans will continue to have an LTV cap of 80 per cent. Loans granted by HDB for HDB flats (including DBSS flats) will still have an LTV cap of 90 per cent.
HDB loans are offered to eligible first-time flat buyers and second-timers who are right-sizing their flats to meet their housing needs. They are required to utilise all of their CPF Ordinary Account balance before HDB loans will be granted.
In their statement, the MND said lowering the LTV limit would ’send a clear signal’ to financial institutions to maintain credit standards, and also encourage greater financial prudence.
(via ST Online)
Tags: Housing, investment, loan, on the news
1. Private property owners who buy resale HDB flats must now dispose of their private property within six months of purchase. This is to prevent private property owners from buying HDB resale flats for investment purposes.
2. All buyers of HDB flats now have to meet 5 year minimum occupation period (MOP) before reselling the flat or before they can invest in private property.
THE red hot public housing market is set to cool significantly in months ahead after new measures on Monday effectively shut out all private property owners from the market and prompted industry watchers to predict a moderation of home prices.
The Housing Board (HDB) said private property owners who buy resale HDB flats from Monday onwards must dispose of their private property within six months of purchase of the HDB flat – a rule that did not exist before. This effectively bans private property owners from buying HDB resale flats for investment purposes.
Similarly, buyers of flats who did not receive any subsidies may not buy a private property during the minimum occupation period (MOP) of their flat. Such buyers were previously allowed to invest in private property during the MOP, which is the time required of a buyer to hold onto his flat before re-selling. In addition, the MOP – which was three years – has now been raised to five years with effect from Monday.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said at a briefing that the new rules were meant to ‘ensure equitable treatment’ of all flat owners during the MOP. He said that these measures will dampen demand, and combined with an increase in supply, ‘hopefully the market will slow down’, he added.
The measures came a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day Rally speech that the Government will move to cool the market to ensure housing will remain affordable to Singaporeans. HDB resale flat prices had risen 4.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year, smashing records for the eighth straight quarter, prompting ground concerns that prices were beyond the reach of Singaporeans.
Mr Mah emphasised on Monday the moves were to ‘pre-empt the over-heating of the market’, adding that the Government will ‘take whatever steps necessary to stabilise the market’. ‘Obviously the intention is not to crash the market, but at the same time, if we don’t rein in the market, and the bubble bursts then it will be even worst for everyone concerned, the economy as well as for individual buyers,’ said Mr Mah.
(via ST Online)
Tags: Day-to-day Issues, Housing, investment, on the news
1. If you buy a HDB resale flat now with no HDB loan or grant, you now have to occupy it for 5 years before you can sell your flat. (Previously, you need only occupy the unit for 3 years.)
2. Households earning $8k-$10k now eligible for DBSS, and $30k CPF housing grant.”
3. 16,000 more new flats will be offered this year, and up to 22,000 next year, pending demand.
4. BTO flat owners can now collect their keys 6 months earlier. This means they need only wait 2.5 years for their new flat, versus the current 3 years.
OWNERS of non-subsidised Housing Board flats will have to occupy it for at least five years – up from three years – before they can sell the unit.
The HDB, which announced the new measure along with several others on Monday morning to help first-time home buyers, will also disallow concurrent ownership of both HDB flats and private residential properties within the minimum occupation period.
In yet another significant step, households earning between $8,000 and $10,000 can now buy flats built under the Design-Build-and-Sell Scheme (DBSS), as well as enjoy a $30,000 CPF housing grant.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced some of the new measures to ensure that public housing will always remain within the reach of first-time Singaporean flat buyers in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday night.
To meet the housing needs of first-time flat applications, the HDB said on Monday it will substantially ramp up the supply of new flats, including DBSS units and Executive Condominiums.
It will offer more than 16,000 new flats this year. If demand remains strong, it is prepared to launch up to 22,000 new flats next year.
‘These numbers are substantial,’ said the HDB. The flats to be offered this year and next are more than the 35,400 flats in Toa Payoh town today.
It will also release more land for tender later this year to yield a further supply of 3,000 DBSS flats and 4,000 ECs.
The HDB will also release land sites for another 4,000 DBSS flats and 4,000 ECs, if demand is sustained.
‘This injection of 7,000 DBSS flats and 8,000 ECs over two years is also significant. In comparison, 4,000 DBSS flats and 10,000 ECs have been launched for public sale so far,’ added the HDB.
The new income ceiling cap for households with monthly income of between $8,000 and $10,000 – described as the ’sandwich class’ by PM Lee – will enable such applicants to buy an EC with a CPF Housing Grant of $30,000.
To widen their housing options, HDB will allow these households to buy new DBSS flats with the $30,000 CPF Housing Grant too for projects launched for sale after Monday.
But such buyers will not be eligible for HDB concessionary loan, just like the EC applicants. They will also to arrange their own financing.
To help households get their new flats faster, HDB has also streamlined the BTO processes to allow flat buyers collect keys to their new homes six months earlier.
Buyers of projects launched in mid-2011 onwards will generally need to wait for 2 1/2 years to collect the keys instead of the current three years.
(via ST Online)
Tags: BTO, Day-to-day Issues, dbss, hdb, Housing
If your household income is between $8-10k, now you have the option to buy DBSS (Design-Build-and-Sell Scheme) and EC (Exeuctive Condominimums).
They will be eligible for $30k housing grant, but have to take up their own private bank loan.
THE Housing Board will raise the $8,000 income ceiling to $10,000 to give those caught in the ’sandwiched group’ more housing options.
While the $8,000 monthly income cap remains for those buying Built-To-Order (BTO) flats, the ceiling for those buying flats under Design-Build-and-Sell Scheme (DBSS) will be upped to $10,000. DBSS gives private developers flexibility in designing, building pricing the units.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who announced this at the National Day Rally on Sunday night, said the higher income ceiling will allow those caught in the $8,000 to $10,000 group to qualify for both DBSS and executive condominiums.
‘I think this group is quite anxious about falling in between, as they are not eligible for HDB and they can’t afford private property.. And because people are marrying a little bit later, so their incomes tend to be a little bit higher, so they worry that they will get promoted before they get settled. So we will do more to help them own their homes,’ he said.
Buyers of a DBSS will enjoy concessions given to those buying an executive condominium. They will be eligible for a housing grant and can arrange their own financing. While not quite doing away with the $8,000 ceiling cap, the new move, which many flat buyers have long clamoured for, will open up thousands of mid-priced units to the sandwich group.
A typical four-room BTO flat costs $300,000, a DBSS flat around $500,000 and an executive condominium around $700,000.
PM Lee also announced that the government will move to cool the private property market, but did not give details. ‘Otherwise you will remember nothing else about my speech,’ he said, to laughter from the audience at the University Cultural Centre.
The Ministry of National Development will announce details of the changes on Monday morning.
On public housing, PM Lee said the HDB will build 22,000 more BTO units next year. ‘So if you miss one BTO, don’t worry, the next one is coming… There are 22,000 new flats coming along and we don’t have 22,000 new couples getting married in Singapore every year,’ he said.
He added that the HDB will also speed up construction of flats and cut the waiting time, which averages three years now. He also assured flat buyers that HDB flats would be kept within reach of Singaporeans. The affordability of housing has been a hot-button topic this year, with many voicing concern over the surge in property prices.
PM Lee acknowledged that the influx of foreigners has impacted on housing demand, but he added that it was not the only factor. There were broader economic forces at work, he said.
(via ST Online)
Tags: dbss, hdb, Housing, on the news
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