BT : DBSS site at Bedok Reservoir launched

Business Times - 14 Sep 2010

DBSS site at Bedok Reservoir launched

By UMA SHANKARI

THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) has launched a plot at Bedok Reservoir Crescent for sale by public tender under the design, build and sell scheme (DBSS).

Around 430 public housing units can be built on the site, which is 179,400 square feet in size and can be built up to a maximum gross floor area of 502,400 sq ft.

Analysts expect it to sell for $250-300 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

It is likely to be popular with developers because it is an established area, says Dennis Wee, chairman of Dennis Wee Realty.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said: 'The entire Bedok Reservoir belt is being built up into a rich belt of attractive mass-market housing.'

Compared with private homes in the area - such as the Bedok Waterfront collection developed jointly by Frasers Centrepoint and Far East Organization - the DBSS flats will be appealing in price terms, he said. New private apartments in the area are selling for a median price of $1,000 psf, while the DBSS flats should be priced around $600 psf.

Analysts reckon buyer interest in the flats will be strong, as the income ceiling for buying DBSS flats was revised recently. First-time buyers earning up to $10,000 a month can now buy new DBSS flats with a $30,000 CPF Housing Grant.

Including the latest Bedok Reservoir plot, HDB has released three DBSS sites with a combined estimated yield of 1,710 flats so far this year. Another two DBSS sites with a combined estimated yield of 1,210 units - one at Upper Serangoon Road and the other at Jurong West - will be launched for sale in the coming months.

More sites for DBSS development will be made available if there is sustained demand, HDB says.

Flats sold under the DBSS come with a 99-year lease and are offered to buyers under HDB's eligibility conditions. But the developers who buy such sites have flexibility in designing, pricing and selling the flats - subject to legislation and regulations.

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