More choices for 'sandwich class'
IT WAS a five-year wait that eventually bore fruit for Mr Ang Tiong Wei.
After unsuccessfully balloting for new flats directly from the Housing Board for the past few years, the 30-year-old finally clinched a unit at the newly launched Esparina Residences executive condominium in Sengkang last month.
Aggressive moves by the HDB to ramp up supply have seen new executive condominiums (ECs), such as Esparina and The Canopy in Yishun, launched recently.
The last EC launched was in 2005. There had been a hiatus in the building of ECs due to weak demand.
But the recent housing boom led the Government to release more land for ECs, which are a hybrid of public and private housing and include some condominium facilities. They are subject to HDB rules, such as a minimum five-year occupation period.
These units are targeted at helping the middle-income earners, also known as the sandwich class, by catering to households with a monthly income ceiling of $10,000.
Mr Ang, a teacher, said he gave up looking for resale flats as the cash upfront demanded by sellers, known as COV, was as high as $80,000 in some areas.
'I decided that an EC unit was the best choice, and I waited for the new supply,' he said.
The primary school teacher, whose wife is also a teacher, said he felt lucky to have secured a unit of his choice on the 14th storey.
'It was the first launch in a while, so the response was overwhelming,' he said. But the allocation of 95 per cent of the units for first-timers helped a great deal, he added.
'This measure helps because we don't have investors coming in to spoil the market.'
Prices, however, could have been lower, he felt. His three-bedroom, 1,184 sq ft unit cost $929,000 - or $899,000 after taking into account a Central Provident Fund housing grant of $30,000 that he received.
Executive condos such as Esparina Residences (above) and The Canopy are targeted at middle- income earners. --ST FILE PHOTOS
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