HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FLATS (Price)

Mr Ahmad Mohd Magad asked the Minister for National Development (a) what factors contributed to the lower cost of the Housing and Development Board flats published recently; and (b) whether the price of HDB flats will stabilise at the current levels.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Mr Speaker, Sir, HDB considers various factors in the pricing of new flats for sale. These include affordability of the flats to the buyers, prevailing resale prices of comparable HDB resale flats, the locations and attributes of the flats and the overall development cost.

Generally, HDB flats which are in more popular towns/locations with more developed amenities and facilities, such as MRT/LRT stations, bus interchanges, shopping centres, and sport complexes, are priced higher than those in the less developed towns. The selling prices of flats may therefore vary from quarter to quarter, depending on the factors that apply to the flats offered. For example, the prices of some new flats offered in the 4th Quarter 2000 are higher than those of flats offered in the 2nd Quarter 2000 because the new flats are in the more developed Bukit Batok Town within the Town Centre and next to the MRT station. On the other hand, prices of new flats offered in Punggol town in 4th Quarter 2000 are priced lower than those offered in 2nd Quarter 2000, to reflect their location nearer to the expressway.

HDB will continue to use these factors to set the prices of HDB flats and to ensure that they remain affordable. From time to time, HDB will make some adjustments to the prices of flats offered to reflect the location and attributes of the flats.