HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FLATS (Breakdown of demand on flat types)

Mr Chng Hee Kok asked the Acting Minister for National Development if he will give a breakdown of the demand for Housing and Development Board flats based on flat types.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, in the third quarter 1994 Booking Exercise, out of a total of 93,367 applications, 27,863 (or 30%) were for 4-room, 43,413 (or 46%) were for 5-room, and 22,091 (or 24%) were for Executive flats.

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Does this imply that in future sale of resale flats, those upgraders will have some difficulty in selling their smaller flats in view of the high demand for larger flats?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Sir, 60% of the applications come from upgraders. So it is natural to see the upgraders applying for the bigger flats. There is still a demand for the 3-room and 4-room flats, both in the resale market as well as demand for 4-room flats from first-timers and also from some upgraders.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen (Bukit Timah): Sir, may I ask the Minister to give a formal definition of what is a first-timer and what is an upgrader?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: First-time applicants are those who have never applied for a HDB flat before. That is a first-timer. It is the first time you apply to HDB for a direct allocation of a flat. I thought it is quite straightforward.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen: May I find out from the Minister whether a couple, who has never bought a flat from HDB but from the open market, and has never enjoyed a subsidy from HDB, would be classified as a first-timer or upgrader?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Sir, such a couple would be classified as a first-time applicant to the HDB for direct allocation.

Dr Wang Kai Yuen: Is the Minister aware that some of these couples have been classified as upgraders for the purpose of balloting priorities.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, as I will explain later on, in the present system of balloting in the Booking System, we classify applicants under "new households" and "upgrader households". HDB classifies people who are forming new households under "new households". So the couple that he cited was classified not as a new household. But we have now revised the definition and we will classify applicants under a new group more correctly as "first-time applicants" versus "upgraders". So the problem will now be resolved.

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Can I bring the Minister back to my original question, ie, how does the HDB set the mixture of flats in a new town or new estate? Is it based on demand?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Sir, we have to build according to demand. But at the same time, we build to favour the first-time applicants. So the new town has a greater mix of 4-room flats for the first-time applicants as well as for upgraders from 3-room to 4-room flats. So there is a greater proportion of 4-room flats. At the same time, we have 35% of our building programme allocated to 5-room flats and 10% of our building programme allocated to Executive flats.