UNSOLD 3- and 4-ROOM HDB FLATS (Particulars)

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Dr Wong Kwei Cheong asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many unsold 3-room and 4-room Housing and Development Board flats there are at the latest available date; (b) how many 3-room and 4-room flats will be built in 1989; and (c) if he will consider renting the unsold 3-room flats to those who cannot afford to buy them.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Dr Lee Boon Yang) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, as at 31st December 1988, there is a stock of 11,102 unsold 3-room flats of which 3,185 will be sold soon because they are located in popular zones such as Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Jurong and Bukit Batok. There is already a waiting list of 3,535 applicants for 3-room flats in these zones as at 31st December 1988. The remaining 7,917 3-room flats are located in Yishun and Woodlands in which zones the demand has shifted to larger room types. For this reason, about 2,000 of these flats will be converted to bigger flats to meet the new demand. This will leave a net stock of about 5,917 vacant 3-room flats which will be kept for sale to new applicants, especially from those upgrading from rental flats.

Sir, in the case of the 4-room flats, there is a stock of 8,142 unsold 4-room flats of which 2,182 will be sold soon as they are located in zones in which there is a waiting list of 21,509 applicants. The remaining 5,960 4-room flats are located in Woodlands. Of these, about 1,000 are being converted to 5-room and executive flats to meet the shift in demand and the rest are being offered to new applicants.

Sir, a total of 35 3-room flats and 8,225 4-room flats are expected to be completed in 1989. The HDB has no plans to rent out the unsold 3-room flats because the rental of a 3-room improved flat at $108 per month is more than the monthly instalment repayment of $92 per month for a similar 3-room flat. A family with a household income of $500 can afford to buy a 3-room flat and we will encourage such a family to buy rather than to rent.