HDB's new resale portal to reduce meet-ups with officers, halve transaction time

THE introduction of a new online resale portal by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will cut down the number of appointments required with HDB officers from two to one, and possibly halve transaction time from 16 weeks to eight.

This kicks in next year, the public housing statutory board announced on Thursday.

Currently, a resale transaction requires two appointments with the HDB - a first appointment to work out the sellers' sale proceeds and assess the buyers' financial plan, and a second to complete the resale transaction and sign the documents.

Ahead of the first appointment, resale flat buyers and sellers must also complete an online resale checklist, including a section on financial planning, and checks on their eligibility, the available quota in the block/neighbourhood for the different ethnic groups and citizenships, and recent transacted prices of nearby flats.

The HDB said that from Jan 1, 2018, the new portal will integrate all the eligibility checks on a single platform. Using their SingPass, buyers and sellers of resale flats can submit their forms and conduct their checks through the new portal, thus eliminating the need for the first appointment.

Buyers and sellers will only need to attend the resale completion appointment, either at HDB Hub or at their solicitors' office.

The portal will also minimise the need for manual entry of data, because buyers' and sellers' personal details from the government's MyInfo service will be used to auto-populate the application forms.

The HDB said that the current option-to-purchase form will be valid until Dec 31, 2017, and the HDB will set up a dedicated helpline and helpdesk at HDB Hub to assist resale flat buyers and sellers.

In his blog post on Thursday, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said: "This new platform is an example of how digital technology can be applied in practical ways to streamline existing processes and make citizens' lives more convenient...

"The HDB Resale Portal will also benefit real estate salespersons. It will free them up from time-consuming administrative work and allow them to focus on higher value-added work."

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