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Wednesday February 6, 2013

S’pore moves to keep new flat prices affordable


SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the government has de-linked the prices of new flats from the prices of resale flats by varying the discounts given to first-time buyers.

This was to keep the prices of flats steady and affordable for Singaporeans buying public housing for the first time, and were in addition to the housing grants these buyers also enjoyed, he said in Parliament.

“I vary the discounts so that the prices can remain steady,” he said, in reply to a question from Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon group representation constituency or GRC).

Khaw also took questions on resale levies, saying the government could reduce or waive the interest charges on resale levies to help families for whom the levy had become a barrier to a subsequent home purchase.

The levy can also be incorporated into the price of the new flat, so that it can be paid in installments or out of their Central Provident Fund. This is because of a revision of the resale levy formula in 2006.

“Yes there are some families where the levy has become a barrier, when the levy was calculated on a different formula. When policy changes, it won’t be fair to families who paid already on the old formula.

“If the transaction happened many years ago, it can be very large and we try to help,” he said. — The Straits Times/ Asian News Network

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