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SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – There has been another request to allow real HDB upgraders for the first time to a private condominium to defer the payment of additional buyer stamp duty (ABSD), this time from UOL group CEO Liam Wee Sin.
“We are hopeful that the government will grant the ABSD referral, similar to EC (executive condo) buyers, giving them time to sell their HDB home six months after collecting their keys,” Liam said Wednesday (Nov 25) during a communication medium. briefing at the launch of the company’s latest residential project.
Demand from the private residential market is genuinely and substantially from HDB upgraders who have higher aspirations for condo living, Mr. Liam said.
“It makes sense to promote the aspirations of Singaporeans,” he said.
“An adjustment to this ABSD policy to align it with what already exists for EC buyers can help true HDB breeders transition to private ownership,” he said.
If the referral is granted, HDB improvers purchasing a private home would not face the pressure of having to pay ABSD within 14 days of signing the purchase agreement.
Under the current ABSD regime, an HDB owner would have to pay a 12 percent ABSD within 14 days of signing the purchase agreement when committing to private property if they have not sold their existing home.
“12 percent is a substantial amount to pay,” Liam said.
As such, the government should consider allowing HDB upgraders who purchase a private property to obtain an ABSD referral similar to what currently applies to HDB upgraders purchasing an EC, he said. The EC is a hybrid of public-private housing. This group has six months to dispose of their HDB floors after they have collected the key to their new EC home.
This means that HDB developers would now have six months to sell their HDB apartment after collecting the keys to their new condo, contrary to the current requirement that they sell their HDB apartment six months after purchasing the private property. he said.
“This makes sense in many respects. In addition to facilitating their cash flow, this also addresses other considerations that buyers have to deal with, such as the logistics of finding interim accommodation while they wait for the new private property to be completed,” he said Liam. .
In September, the director of the Singapore Real Estate Developers Association also urged the Government to urgently consider allowing new upgraders from an HDB floor to a private property to defer payment of the ABSD until six months after the completion of the private property. .
UOL is quite optimistic about the sale of its latest project, as prices are “realistic and affordable,” Liam said.
Called Clavon, it is located at 1 Clementi Avenue and integrates life and work trends, and features flexible spaces, smart home amenities, and technology solutions for a safe living environment.
Pricing for the 640-unit condo comprising two 37-story towers per square foot (psf) starts at $ 1,475 psf.
Comparable Projects Parc Clematis has a median unit price of $ 1,634 psf, while the median unit price for Kent Ridge Hill Residences was $ 1,770 psf for the January-October 2020 period, according to Christine Sun, head of research and consulting at OrangeTee & Tie.
An 80:20 joint venture between UOL and subsidiary United Industrial Corporation Limited, Clavon comprises a mix of one to five bedroom units ranging from 527 square feet to 1,690 square feet. Approximately 56 percent or 356 units in the development are one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size between 527 square feet and 764 square feet.
More than half of the units in the development are priced below $ 1.5 million. A one-bedroom unit starts from $ 800,000, a two-bedroom unit from $ 1 million, a three-bedroom unit from $ 1.45 million, a four-bedroom unit from $ 1.9 million, and a five-bedroom unit from $ 2.5 million.
When asked about the overall private new home sales market for 2020, Liam said the market is stable and he expects it to continue to move “sustainably.” From the year to October, new home sales were 8,021 units.
Mr. Liam estimates total new home sales of 9,000 to 10,000 units for the year. In 2019, total new home sales were 9,912 units.
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