In spite of the global recession, the number of arrears of HDB home loans declined to 30,770 in September 2009 from 33,670 during the same month in 2008.
The drop transpired after the Housing Board launched a raft of measures at the start of the fiscal crisis to assist home owners who are likely to fail in paying their home loans.
The measures, which were announced in February, were a combination of short-and long-term initiatives, including counseling, deferring payments and enforced acquisition, as a last resort.
HDB also launched a new concept called “interim housing”, intended for home owners who urgently need to downgrade, but have purchased a new unit that has not been completed yet.
Contrary to its standard practice, the HDB extended second concessionary loans to those who want to downgrade on a case-by-case basis.
Overall, such measures reduced the default rate to 7.5 percent of 409,470 loans in September this year from 7.9 percent of 426,270 loans for the same month last year.