\nMore time is needed to fine-tune the details of the newly-announced Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) for HDB flats such as the price to be offered by the government and whether all public housing will qualify for it, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong told Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday (21 Aug 21).
\n\u201cIt would be rash to rush into details now when some of these things can only happen decades from now. Let\u2019s not get too excited about what is going to be in the VERS package or which flats will get it or speculate unnecessarily,\u201d he said.
\nOn Sunday (19 Aug), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced several new initiatives for HDB flats. Among them is VERS, which will allow homeowners to vote on whether to sell their HDB flats to the government once the lease nears its end.
\nResidents can then expect to utilise the proceeds to fund the purchase of a new home, but the scheme will only commence in around 20 years time, once the age of an HDB block hits 70 years.
\nMore: Home buyers looking for HDB flats may like to visit our\u00a0Listings
\n\u201cObviously there is a lot of interest in the details but this is a very long-term commitment and we will have to study how the implementation is to be done in a way that is financially sustainable,\u201d Mr Wong explained.
\nHe revealed the government\u2019s reason for announcing VERS early, even though its particulars are still being deliberated, is to alleviate the worries of some homeowners on the issue declining lease of HDB flats.
\n\u201cIf we were to hold back and only reveal or announce VERS when the details are ready, that might be 15 years from now, so people might be living with 15 years of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is also disclosed that the government has been looking into this issue over the last two years.\u00a0
More time is needed to fine-tune the details of the newly-announced Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-p6M","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":96391,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/response-to-vers-to-depend-on-govts-offered-price-for-hdb-flats\/","url_meta":{"origin":96520,"position":0},"title":"Response to VERS to depend on govt\u2019s offered price for HDB flats","date":"August 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The response of HDB homeowners to the newly announced Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) will hinge on its particulars, property experts told TODAYonline. \u201cIt boils down to how (it) will be implemented, and how much flat owners will be compensated\u201d noted ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak. \u201cWhat is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96393,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/lease-buyback-scheme-to-be-extended-to-all-hdb-flats\/","url_meta":{"origin":96520,"position":1},"title":"Lease buyback scheme to be extended to all HDB flats","date":"August 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Elderly owners of large Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats can look forward to monetising their flat by selling part of their remaining lease to the government. \u00a0This comes as the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) will now be extended to all HDB flats, including five-room and bigger units, to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":100674,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/falling-hdb-resale-prices-a-thorny-issue-for-singapore-government\/","url_meta":{"origin":96520,"position":2},"title":"Falling HDB resale prices a thorny issue for Singapore government","date":"October 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r HDB resale prices could slide by up to 2.0% this year. There could be severe political ramifications if the Singapore government fails to adequately address the downtrend in the prices of HDB resale flats and the loss of their value as the lease dwindles, reported Bloomberg recently. \u201cThe government\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":97136,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-flat-prices-to-appreciate-but-not-as-fast-as-before-khaw\/","url_meta":{"origin":96520,"position":3},"title":"HDB flat prices to appreciate, but not as fast as before, Khaw","date":"September 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan debunked claims that Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats are not assets due to their 99-year lease tenure by saying that buyers of a 50-year-old HDB unit can still expect prices to increase over the next 10 years, reported The New Paper. \u201cIf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":97606,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/private-developers-may-be-needed-for-vers\/","url_meta":{"origin":96520,"position":4},"title":"Private developers may be needed for VERS","date":"September 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Redevelopment works of older HDB towns will keep to the aim of providing affordable and quality homes for Singaporeans. Private developers may have a role in the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS), said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong in Parliament on Monday (10 September). In responding to a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":102628,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/hdb-resale-prices-down-0-9-in-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":96520,"position":5},"title":"HDB resale prices down 0.9% in 2018","date":"January 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r HDB resale flats in the Ghim Moh area. Resale prices of HDB flats dropped by 0.9 percent for the whole of 2018, revealed the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Wednesday (2 Jan). For the fourth quarter of 2018, resale flat prices dipped by 0.2 percent from the previous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96520"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96520\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nQueried on whether the authorities will ask the President to use some of the accumulated reserves to finance the scheme, Wong only said that VERS needs to be financially feasible.
\n\u201cIt is a significant fiscal expense and whatever we do we will have to make sure that fiscal arrangements for VERS are sustainable, and do not put a heavier burden on the next generation. So those are part of the details that we are working on.\u201d
\nMore: Can you afford an HDB flat? Check your\u00a0affordability\u00a0now.\u00a0
\nOn the proposal to allow CPF monies to be used when buying HDB flats with remaining leasehold tenure of 30 years, he said the CPF Board needs to complete the study on this first.
\nCurrently, the authorities disallow CPF monies to be used for purchasing HDB units with such tenures, while there are limits on the amount that can be used if the remaining lease is below 60 years.
\n\u201cI\u2019m sure Singaporeans know that there is balance to be struck (with retirement adequacy) so we are taking in all the considerations and seeing how best the rules can be updated,\u201d Mr Wong added.
\nEugenia Rosaline Shlaen edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories, email eugenia@propertyguru.com.sg
\n
\nSource : proppertyguru.com.sg\/Property Market
\nRead more…VERS announced early to alleviate worries over HDB lease expiry<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"