The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will keep a steady supply of around 17,000 new flats in 2018, comparable to the 17,584 flats launched this year, revealed Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong.
“We will continue to calibrate our flat supply carefully, taking into account underlying demand and the stability of the HDB resale market,” he said in a blog post.
Wong noted that around 1,000 flats will be launched in Yishun, Sembawang and Sengkang in the second half of 2018. The flats will have shorter waiting times of around 2.5 years, instead of the usual three to four years for most other Build-to-Order (BTO) project.
New flat buyers can expect a “good spread of projects across mature and non-mature estates, including flats in the new Tengah town”.
For this year, Wong said the government focused on helping first-timer families acquire their own home.
To help such couples better afford a flat on the open market, the government raised the Central Provident Fund Housing Grant from $30,000 to $40,000 or $50,000 in February 2017.
The enhanced grant has benefitted close to 6,900 first-timer households, said Wong.
The government also raised the rent subsidies for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS), benefiting around 840 households who are waiting for their new flats to be ready.
In August 2017, the government also launched the first Re-offer of Balance Flats (ROF) exercise for those with urgent housing needs or who are not so particular about location.
“While the flat selection exercise is still ongoing, about 800 households have already managed to book a flat,” shared Wong.
“All these mean that young couples will have even more affordable and accessible housing options to start their marriage and parenthood journey early.”
This article was edited by Keshia Faculin.
Source : proppertyguru.com.sg/Property Market
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