14 – 19 February 2024
After more than four years, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will launch the first Build-to-Order (BTO) project in Punggol – Matilda Riverside – in its February sales exercise. Meanwhile, single Singaporean seniors, or those aged 55 and above, can now claim a refund of Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) when they buy a lower-value private property as replacement for their existing home.
1. HDB to offer 962 Punggol BTO flats in February sales exercise
After more than four years, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will launch the first Build-to-Order (BTO) project in Punggol – Matilda Riverside – in its February sales exercise, reported CNA.
Situated next to Punggol Reservoir within the Matilda District, the project will feature 962 BTO units spread across seven residential blocks of 10- to 19-storeys. A wide selection of flat types will be offered, from two-room Flexi to five-room flats.
The waiting for the project will be the shortest in the latest sales exercise at three years and one month.
Notably, most of the flats launched in February will have waiting times of not more than three-and-a-half years.
HDB noted that units at Matilda Riverside were designed so that residents will have views of the waterfront as well as courtyard spaces in between the blocks.
Amenities include playgrounds, a hardcourt, a preschool, fitness facilities, a residents’ network centre and a common green, which come with a multi-purpose court.
The upcoming launch will also offer other BTO projects in areas such as Bedok, Queenstown, Hougang, Woodlands and Choa Chu Kang. HDB will also offer 1,500 Sale of Balance Flats units.
2. Budget 2024: ABSD refund for single Singaporean seniors
Single Singaporean seniors, or those aged 55 and above, can now claim a refund of Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) when they buy a lower-value private property as replacement for their existing home.
Notably, this ABSD concession is previously offered to married couples, with at least one of the spouse being a Singapore citizen.
“To better support seniors who wish to right-size, I will extend the concession to single Singapore Citizens aged 55 and above,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget 2024 speech.
The seniors can claim the refund once they sell their first property within six months after acquiring a lower-value private property if the replacement unit is completed; or within six months following the issue of the temporary occupation permit (TOP) or certificate of statutory completion (CSC), whichever is earlier, if the replacement unit is not yet completed at the time of acquisition.
Meanwhile, housing developers will also see a lower ABSD clawback rate for developments that have sold at least 90% of units within their prescribed sale timeline.
Developers were previously granted an ABSD remission provided they sell all units within their development within five years from acquiring the site.
However, developers sometimes encounter difficulties meeting the timeline requirement, and are then subject to a full ABSD clawback.
“The reduction in the ABSD remission clawback rate will depend on the proportion of units sold by the housing developers within the remission sale timeline,” said the Ministry of National Development (MND).
3. Budget 2024: Couples waiting BTO flat completion to get open market rental vouchers
Couples waiting for the completion of their Build-to-Order (BTO) flats will receive further support from the government, which will allow them to rent HDB flats from the open market, reported TODAY.
Currently, HDB offers subsidised rental flats to such couples under the enhanced Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS).
But while HDB is ramping up supply to meet the increased demand, the government wants “to do more to support such young families with urgent housing needs”, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech.
“I will therefore provide a PPHS (Open Market) Voucher for a year to support eligible families who rent a HDB flat in the open market,” he added, without disclosing the dollar amount of the voucher.
4. Budget 2024: Lower property tax for some home owners with annual value bands revision
Starting 1 January 2025, the annual value (AV) bands for owner-occupied residential properties will be adjusted, with the lowest AV band threshold raised to $12,000 from $8,000 and the highest threshold to over $140,000 from over $100,000.
With this, home owners can expect to pay similar or lower property tax rates, assuming there is no change in their properties’ AV and prior to any rebate, reported CNA.
The move will ensure that those living in higher-value properties “continue to pay their fair share of taxes”, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech.
He noted that the raising of the bands comes after a significant increase in market rents from 2022 resulted to more owner-occupied properties being affected by a recent hike in property taxes than expected.
“We had originally expected the property tax changes to impact mainly the top 7% of owner-occupied residential properties. But the AV increases resulted in the proportion of affected owner-occupied properties nearly doubling to 13%,” shared Wong.
He added that the government will continue to monitor the property market, providing another rebate in 2025 if needed.
Meanwhile, a 24-month instalment plan will be offered by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to retirees living in higher-end homes facing cash flow issues.
5. New private home sales soar 108.1% in January
Singapore saw new private home sales surge 108.1% in January 2024 from the previous month, albeit it remains the weakest showing for the month of January in 15 years.
Developers’ sales, excluding executive condominiums (ECs), increased to 281 units in January from 135 units in December 2023, reported CNA citing Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data.
However, new private home sales declined 28.7% year-on-year from the 394 units transacted in January 2023. This marked the lowest since January 2009, when only 108 units were sold amid the global financial crisis.
Analysts attributed January’s month-on-month hike in sales to the launch of two new projects – Hillhaven and The Arcady at Boon Keng.
Notably, the two projects accounted for almost 40% of the total sales in January, with 111 units shifted.
The Outside Central Region (OCR) dominated sales in January, with 114 units sold or around 51% of the total sales last month. The Rest of Central Region (RCR) sold with 112 units or around 40%, while the Core Central Region (CCR) moved 25 new homes.
Developers put up 417 new units, excluding ECs, for sale last month, up from December’s 36 units.
6. New private home sales drop to 16-year low in 2023
For the second consecutive year, new private home sales fell 9.6% to 6,421 units in 2023, revealed Savills Research.
The figure was also the lowest since 2008, when 4,264 units were transacted during the global financial crisis. Savills attributed the decline primarily to delays in securing relevant sales permits, affecting new launches.
Although the number of new private home launched units dropped to 7,551 in 2023, it was still 66.8% higher compared to 2022’s 4,528 units.
Both the RCR and OCR recorded year-on-year hikes of 205.4% (4,233 units) and 61.1% (2,688 units), respectively, while the CCR posted a 57.2% (630 units) year-on-year decline.
Non-landed home purchases by foreigners dropped 33.3% year-on-year to 616 units in 2023, the lowest in 27 years. Non-landed home purchases by Singaporeans also declined by 8.6% to 13,911 units, while purchases by permanent residents (PRs) fell 12.7% to 3,030 units last year.
Meanwhile, price appreciation slowed across nearly all property segments in 2023, reflecting economic challenges and higher mortgage rates.
Landed home prices rose 8% in 2023, lower than the 9.6%hike seen in 2022. Prices of non-landed home prices also climbed at a much slower rate at 6.6% in 2023, compared to 8.1% in 2022.
7. Plantation Close EC site awarded to Hoi Hup-Sunway JV
The executive condominium (EC) site at Plantation Close has been awarded to a joint venture between Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments, after it submitted the highest bid of $423.38 million for the site, revealed the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
Launched in November 2023, the site has an area of 20,038.2 sq m and a maximum gross floor area of 56,107 sq m.
It has a leasehold tenure of 99 years and is expected to yield 560 housing units.
The tender for the site closed on 1 February with four bids received.
8. HDB to refund GST wrongly charged over last five years
HDB will refund the Goods and Services Tax (GST) wrongly charged on administrative fees for home owners who rent out their bedrooms and flats as well as for the compulsory acquisition of HDB flats.
HDB shared that it has ceased collecting GST on these administrative fees as of 14 February 2024.
“As the above administrative fees have been determined to be regulatory in nature, they are non-taxable and GST should not have been charged on them. HDB apologises for the erroneous charging of the GST,” it said in a release.
On average, the GST charged stands at around $1 for every application to rent out a spare bedroom or the entire flat, and around $15 for the compulsory acquisition of flats.
HDB will reach out to affected households wrongly charged GST on such fees over the past five years from mid-March to arrange the refunds.
It noted that the refund amount will include interest.
9. Hike in young Singaporeans taking out loans to buy private homes
Despite the higher interest rate environment, banks noted a significant uptick in young Singaporeans obtaining loans to finance a property over the past few years, reported CNA.
ERA Realty Network shared that the number of private residential buyers aged 26 to 35 has tripled since 2015. These buyers accounted for 35% of last year’s new private home transactions, up from 31% in 2022.
It attributed the hike in young property buyers to various factors including rising incomes, the appeal of higher profit gains and more flexible resale options compared to BTO flats.
“The bulk of the transactions for this age group is below $2.5 million. They would buy within what they can afford according to their respective incomes and they will rarely overstretch,” said ERA Realty’s Key Executive Officer Eugene Lim.
While default rates among young property buyers are low, banks urge such buyers to remain prudent, noting that long-time financial commitments require careful consideration.
They advise buyers to assess affordability early and to set aside adequate savings to prepare for unforeseen circumstances such as interest rate hikes and job changes.
Get the full breakdown of your affordability with the Mortgage Calculator by PropertyGuru Finance.
10. Factors to consider before buying first private home
With home prices having stabilised, the year 2024 may appear to be the perfect time for first-time buyers to enter the private residential market, reported TODAY.
“With careful research and planning, first-time private-home buyers could take advantage of changing trends to find a home that meets their needs and budget,” said Christine Sun, OrangeTee Group’s Chief Researcher and Strategist.
Among the factors that first-time buyers should consider is the ramped up supply of homes, particularly in the suburbs.
Notably, about 30 projects, yielding up to 12,000 units, are expected to be launched this year.
Even if launches are delayed due to unforeseen events, Sun still expects 23 private residential project launches, which would generate up to 8,800 units. This is 16.5% higher than the number of units launched in the previous year.
Excluding ECs, the OCR will account for about 50.5% or over 4,400 units of the total anticipated new units.
With more units completed in 2023 and 2024, potential buyers should prepare for a drop in supply over the coming years as this could put upward pressure on prices.
Buyers should also assess overall affordability as well as evaluate their financial position. And while market conditions may seem favourable, Sun urged home buyers to remain prudent, given the uncertain economic environment.
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Fariza Salleh, Content Marketing Manager at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email: farizasalleh@propertyguru.com.sg.
