(no subject)
Well, it could be a rather frivolous way of spending $10, but that amount was spent for an online application for a new apartment in the HDB's latest sales exercise.
It is a move that's entirely mine, because Rick is not thrilled at all about the location. It's at Kallang/Whampoa, a project called The River Vista (to be completed around April 2012) as the site is located along the Whampoa River, along Bendemeer Road. The nearest MRT station, Boon Keng, is about a 10-15 minute walk away.
Actually, I don't know why I applied either. To see what my chances will be like as a second-timer in this current crush for housing? After all, in a typical sales exercise like this one, 90% of available units are allocated for first-timers. So naturally I'll be dumped in the remaining 10%. If I have a queue number that exceeds the number of vacant units, I'll have to cross my fingers and pray that whoever is in front of me rejects buying a unit or gives his space up. Only then will I have the opportunity to select a flat, and that's the way it works.
Already, the number of applicants has exceeded the number of units available. I applied for a 4-roomer, with a price range of $257,000 - $438,000. The River Vista @ Kallang which I'm eyeing has a price tag of $400,000 up. I'd wanted to apply for a 5-roomer, but there are only 18 units assigned to Chinese and the price range is more than $500,000... The first column of numbers indicates the number of units available. The second column indicates the number of applicants so far as of 5pm today. (there are daily updates).
Kallang/ Whampoa3-room/ 4-room313$257,000 - $438,000409 5-room47$432,000 - $549,00073
So why the parallel move? Right now I'm living in a 4-room flat, so why shouldn't I get a five-roomer? First of all, if I upgrade to a bigger flat, there will be less rebates for electricity, for example. My monthly conservancy fees will rise to $61.50 from the $49.50 I'm paying now. Any government cash handouts will also be less, as our flat is bigger (the govt assumes families with higher incomes stay in bigger flats).
Currently, my apartment only has the smallest floor area out of all the existing 4-room floorplans. So if I do move to another 4-room, it will definitely be a bigger one. The one that I'm applying has a floor area of 89-92 sq m, an improvement over 75 sq m.
Anyway, if we are successful in our application (but seriously, I doubt so), Rick and I will have to do our maths and think thoroughly about whether we want to move or not. Because new HDB flats are no longer as affordable as they once were, it would actually make more sense to get a resale flat (our options would be wider), but the only downside to that is the ridiculously high cash-over-valuation that owners are asking. That needs to be paid in cold hard cash and can't be taken from your CPF... and right now, COV prices are in the region of $15K onwards. Ouch.
::
First-time buyers have it tough. They can no longer expect to "earn" by buying a new unit from the HDB. When I bought my flat for $186,000 in 2003, we expected the price to rise, and it did (its current valuation is 430K). But take this current exercise for example. If I buy a 4-room flat at the 'average' price of $400,000, how much profit can I expect to make? While the price for my flat has now doubled, I don't foresee that the price of a brand new unit will ever double. ($400K to $800K? Not likely.) It's become similar to buying a resale unit, where you cannot expect to make a handsome profit should you choose to sell it again.
::
When the Pinnacle at Duxton was announced a few years ago, it was considered a premium government housing project, right smack in the CBD area in Tanjong Pagar. When completed, it will rise 50-storeys, making it the tallest public housing project. However, its launch also created a backlash from the public. They argued that the HDB's mission is to supply affordable housing to the masses, but that it is now benchmarking its prices against the private sector. What's more, the $8,000 income cap hasn't been changed, prompting the question -- how on earth is a family with a combined income that fulfils that ceiling requirement possibly afford such a unit comfortably? Plenty of folks have done their math, and the answer is impossible. You'd either have to have thousands in your CPF account, or opt for a cash top-up. Imagine having every cent in your Ordinary Account wiped out every month towards your housing loan, so that it constantly remains at $0. To add salt to the wound, the home owner still has to fork out cash to finance his loan.
Here's a price range of the units at Duxton (S1 is for a 4-room, S2 is for a 5-room apartment). S1 Apartment77$463,000 - $553,000410 S2 Apartment34$554,000 - $643,000193
The demand amazes me, considering the absurd price. Especially for the 5-room units... would you pay over $600,000 for government housing?! But yet people still do, and that's why they overstretch themselves on their housing loans. It's not worth it to slog for the rest of your life just to pay for your dream home.
And that's why I believe that I won't be selecting a new flat any time soon despite applying for one...
It is a move that's entirely mine, because Rick is not thrilled at all about the location. It's at Kallang/Whampoa, a project called The River Vista (to be completed around April 2012) as the site is located along the Whampoa River, along Bendemeer Road. The nearest MRT station, Boon Keng, is about a 10-15 minute walk away.
Actually, I don't know why I applied either. To see what my chances will be like as a second-timer in this current crush for housing? After all, in a typical sales exercise like this one, 90% of available units are allocated for first-timers. So naturally I'll be dumped in the remaining 10%. If I have a queue number that exceeds the number of vacant units, I'll have to cross my fingers and pray that whoever is in front of me rejects buying a unit or gives his space up. Only then will I have the opportunity to select a flat, and that's the way it works.
Already, the number of applicants has exceeded the number of units available. I applied for a 4-roomer, with a price range of $257,000 - $438,000. The River Vista @ Kallang which I'm eyeing has a price tag of $400,000 up. I'd wanted to apply for a 5-roomer, but there are only 18 units assigned to Chinese and the price range is more than $500,000... The first column of numbers indicates the number of units available. The second column indicates the number of applicants so far as of 5pm today. (there are daily updates).
Kallang/ Whampoa3-room/ 4-room313$257,000 - $438,000409 5-room47$432,000 - $549,00073
So why the parallel move? Right now I'm living in a 4-room flat, so why shouldn't I get a five-roomer? First of all, if I upgrade to a bigger flat, there will be less rebates for electricity, for example. My monthly conservancy fees will rise to $61.50 from the $49.50 I'm paying now. Any government cash handouts will also be less, as our flat is bigger (the govt assumes families with higher incomes stay in bigger flats).
Currently, my apartment only has the smallest floor area out of all the existing 4-room floorplans. So if I do move to another 4-room, it will definitely be a bigger one. The one that I'm applying has a floor area of 89-92 sq m, an improvement over 75 sq m.
Anyway, if we are successful in our application (but seriously, I doubt so), Rick and I will have to do our maths and think thoroughly about whether we want to move or not. Because new HDB flats are no longer as affordable as they once were, it would actually make more sense to get a resale flat (our options would be wider), but the only downside to that is the ridiculously high cash-over-valuation that owners are asking. That needs to be paid in cold hard cash and can't be taken from your CPF... and right now, COV prices are in the region of $15K onwards. Ouch.
::
First-time buyers have it tough. They can no longer expect to "earn" by buying a new unit from the HDB. When I bought my flat for $186,000 in 2003, we expected the price to rise, and it did (its current valuation is 430K). But take this current exercise for example. If I buy a 4-room flat at the 'average' price of $400,000, how much profit can I expect to make? While the price for my flat has now doubled, I don't foresee that the price of a brand new unit will ever double. ($400K to $800K? Not likely.) It's become similar to buying a resale unit, where you cannot expect to make a handsome profit should you choose to sell it again.
::
When the Pinnacle at Duxton was announced a few years ago, it was considered a premium government housing project, right smack in the CBD area in Tanjong Pagar. When completed, it will rise 50-storeys, making it the tallest public housing project. However, its launch also created a backlash from the public. They argued that the HDB's mission is to supply affordable housing to the masses, but that it is now benchmarking its prices against the private sector. What's more, the $8,000 income cap hasn't been changed, prompting the question -- how on earth is a family with a combined income that fulfils that ceiling requirement possibly afford such a unit comfortably? Plenty of folks have done their math, and the answer is impossible. You'd either have to have thousands in your CPF account, or opt for a cash top-up. Imagine having every cent in your Ordinary Account wiped out every month towards your housing loan, so that it constantly remains at $0. To add salt to the wound, the home owner still has to fork out cash to finance his loan.
Here's a price range of the units at Duxton (S1 is for a 4-room, S2 is for a 5-room apartment). S1 Apartment77$463,000 - $553,000410 S2 Apartment34$554,000 - $643,000193
The demand amazes me, considering the absurd price. Especially for the 5-room units... would you pay over $600,000 for government housing?! But yet people still do, and that's why they overstretch themselves on their housing loans. It's not worth it to slog for the rest of your life just to pay for your dream home.
And that's why I believe that I won't be selecting a new flat any time soon despite applying for one...