September’s Built-To-Order (BTO) exercise did not see any surge in demand for two or three-room flats located in non-mature estates, even as the government had allowed existing flat owners buying these units to pay lower down payment, reported the media.
Last week, HDB introduced the Staggered Downpayment Scheme to help current flat owners who want to downgrade to smaller flats, particularly the elderly who are having cash flow issues.
As of 5pm on Tuesday, the application rates for second-timers for two and three-room units in a Bukit Batok BTO project stood at 0.3 and 2.9 respectively, while two and three-room flats in a Jurong West project posted an application rate from second-timers of 0.3 and 1.6 respectively.
Chris International Director Chris Koh explained the new scheme is aimed at providing assistance to the elderly instead of addressing a demand.
“We are just opening up a lot more options for the elderly to right-size and monetise. The challenge we have now is to educate them on these options,” he said.
Ku Swee Yong, Chief Executive of Century 21 noted moving into smaller units in retirement is often not a straightforward decision for the elders. He added a surge in application from this group is unlikely given that the scheme was only launched recently.
Image source: HDB
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
