Over 2 Million Dollars For A Public Housing Apartment
Saturday, 29th December 2012
An executive condominium (EC) penthouse from HDB (Housing Development Board) public housing project was sold at a record price of S$2.05 million. A spokesman for the CityLife Tampines housing project said the sale was made within the second hour after the show flat was opened for public viewing. The unit with a huge roof top deck and about 2,800 sq ft of living space was sold to a young twenty something couple. According to sources, the public subsidised apartment was purchased via proxy as they were currently based in the USA. And the couple's parents claimed that they already owned multiple properties and will be paying off this apartment in cash. And his kids that bought the EC apartment will get a $30,000 CPF Housing Grant.
Photo Credit: Flickr.
Unlike most, the couple does not need to take a 30 years S$1.6 Million loan from a friendly bank with the low interest rate of 1.5% after paying nearly half a million dollars in cash as the 20% deposit. Using the online mortgage calculator from www.educalc.net, it was calculated that young couple would have to pay $5,500 per month to the bank for the next 30 years after paying out front $450,000 in cash. So $2.05 million is a lot of money! Still asset rich Singapore families are making a beeline similar public housing projects all over the island. The project received over 1,600 applications from interested home buyers, three times the total of number of units available at the development. 60% of their units are sold within the end of the first day. According to HDB, EC is only for households earning up to S$12,000 a month.
The Singapore Government is not too happy as to how things are going and has signalled that it may introduce measures to cool the market. The move is expected to cool prices and ensure that EC units remain affordable for the sandwiched class. Pundit speculated that one possible measure would be restricting the floor area for the largest unit in a development to between 1,800 and 2,000 square feet.
7 Jan 2013 Update: URA to review policy allowing developers to sell off free spaces for more profit. The authorities are concerned that as developers sell off private roof terraces and PES, the communal space within the development that benefits all residents will shrink.