SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board is considering more options to try and clear its backlog of 9,000 unsold flats.
Most of these surplus units are in outlying areas like Jurong West, Punggol, Bukit Panjang and Seng Kang.
Some of the measures include engaging property agents to sell the units in the resale market, and improving interior fittings to make the flats more attractive.
The launch of show flats, new marketing activities and walk-in-selection exercises have helped clear about 1,000 unsold flats in the past year.
But with 9,000 flats still unsold, HDB could revisit a successful pilot project conducted in May.
Rear Admiral Lui Tuck Yew, CEO of HDB, said: "We actually put up 100 of these flats to be available for sale on the resale market, and we have had very good response rate, we have had 98 of those taken up ... putting it on the market to enlarge the pool of eligible buyers, for example the PRs and the singles."
Property agents said the strong sales could be due to the fact that these are new flats at attractive prices, and buyers could renovate them as desired.
There are also fewer restrictions on resale flats such as the five-year minimum occupation period.
Unlike in May where one agency was appointed to sell the flats, HDB says it might get more agents involved this time round.
While many welcomed the move to clear the backlog, industry players warn about possible repercussions.
Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex, said: "On average there are 30,000 transactions in the resale market, per month it is about 2,500, if you talk about 250 put into the market per month, that's about 10 percent, that should be able to be absorb by the market, but the other factor is the pricing.
"If the pricing varies too far away from current resale market, then it will certainly put pressure on the resale market prices and there may be a concern for owners in that particular estate as it got to do with their asset value."
Chris Koh, Director of Dennis Wee Properties, said: "I am hoping that HDB will do this tactfully, not to do it in one big pool of flats coming into the market at one time, also not to tell the public that it's going to be done every quarter or that it will be done five to six times a year, that will definitely affect the market."
HDB is also thinking of extending an option currently available in its Build To Order scheme to unsold flats rolled out on the resale market.
This allows buyers to add optional fittings like flooring and new fixtures, at an extra cost, to make their units more attractive.
Besides monitoring the number of units and pace at which the unsold flats are offered, the HDB will also continue with its Walk-In Selection as the main avenue to get buyers for the surplus stock. - CNA/de
