http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_593543.html

Oct 21, 2010

40,000 HDB resale flats sold

By Jessica Cheam


SINGAPORE'S public housing boom for the year ended March saw almost 40,000 resale flats changing hands at a nine-year record, even as a home buyers booked the highest number of new flats in recent years.

The Housing Board's latest annual report, released on Thursday, showed 39,320 resale HDB flats sold from April 2009 to March this year - a 38 per cent jump from the previous financial year.

Total bookings for new flats was 13,200 for the year rose 34 per cent from the previous year.

The bulk of them - 9,140 units - were for new flats under HDB's built-to-order scheme. The rest were for condo-like flats under HDB's design, build and sell scheme (DBSS), and HDB's sale of leftover flats.

HDB chief executive Cheong Koon Hean said at a briefing on Wednesday that 2010 had been a 'special year for HDB' as it marks 50 years of public housing.

She noted that the record numbers in resale transactions and new flat bookings was due to a turnaround in the economic conditions in the second half of 2009, which accelerated housing demand.

'Demand rose and HDB responded quickly,' she said.


Ramping up supply of new flats

HDB ramped up the original supply of new flats in 2009 from 6,000 to 9,000 by year-end.

The Board is planning to raise new flat supply to a record 22,000 next year, if demand persists, she added.

HDB's report card also showed the mortgage arrears rate has decreased from 7.9 per cent, or 33,700 cases as at November 2003 to 6.3 per cent, or 24,500 cases, as at end September 2010.

To date, HDB has added 3,500 new rental flats through new stock and conversion of old flats - to increase the total rental stock to 45,500. HDB aims to hit 50,000 by 2012.

The waiting time for such subsidised rental flats was also reduced from 21 months in 2008 to about nine months now.