National Development Minister Lawrence Wong’s blog post of March 24, in which he cautioned buyers of older resale flats against paying high prices on the assumption that their flats would be “Sers-ed”, has set some home owners thinking and counting down the remaining years on their HDB flat leases.
Mr Wong made clear that the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) – under which the HDB acquires ageing blocks for redevelopment, compensates residents at market rates for their old flats and lets them buy new units nearby at subsidised rates – was never intended for all flats.
Interviews with home owners in three mature estates of Toa Payoh, Queenstown and Geylang – where, from 2014 to last year, there were the most resale transactions of flats with less than 60 years left on their 99-year lease – found that many had indeed expected a windfall from Sers. Mr Wong’s word of caution has left young home owners – like the one who gave his name only as Mr Lim, 30, who bought a Lorong 8 Toa Payoh flat two years ago – wondering whether he will still have a home when his lease expires in 57 years. Continue reading