UOL chief joins plea to help genuine HDB upgraders with ABSD remission

Singapore

ANOTHER plea has gone out, calling for genuine first-time HDB upgraders upgrading to a private condo home to be allowed to defer payment of the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD).

This time, the call came from UOL group chief executive Liam Wee Sin.

He told reporters at the launch of the company's latest residential project: "It is our hope that the government will grant ABSD remission - similar to that given to EC (executive condominium) buyers - giving them time to sell their HDB home six months after collecting their keys."

ECs are a public-private housing hybrid.

Demand for homes in the private residential market is genuine, and this demand comes substantially from HDB upgraders who aspire to condo living, he said.

"It makes logical sense to promote the aspirations of Singaporeans.

"A tweak to this ABSD policy, to align it with what is already in place for EC buyers, can help genuine HDB upgraders to transition to a private property," he said.

Under the current rules, HDB owners have to pay an ABSD of 12 per cent within 14 days of signing the sale-and-purchase agreement for the private property they are buying. The ABSD is levied on the purchase of a second home.

"The 12 per cent is a substantial amount to pay," said Mr Liam.

The government should therefore consider allowing first-time genuine HDB upgraders buying a private property to get ABSD remission, similar to what is now granted to HDB upgraders buying EC units, he said.

HDB owners buying units in ECs have six months to dispose of their HDB flats, with the countdown starting only after they have collected the key to their new EC home, not six months from the time they buy the new property.

Granting HDB upgraders buying private condo units the same reprieve is logical in a number of ways, said Mr Liam.

"Besides easing their cash flow, it also addresses considerations that buyers have to contend with - such as the logistics of finding interim accommodation while still waiting for the construction of the new private property to be completed."

Construction of new projects can take five years.

In September, the head of the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (Redas) had also urged the government to urgently consider allowing first-time HDB upgraders to private property to defer payment of the ABSD till six months after the completion of the private property.

Mr Liam, turning to UOL's latest project to be launched, said the developer is quite optimistic about selling the units because the prices are "realistic and affordable".

Called Clavon, it is along Clementi Avenue 1 and integrates work and living trends; it features flexible spaces, smart-home amenities and technology solutions for a safe living environment.

Pricing of the 640-unit condominium, comprising two 37-storey towers, starts at S$1,475 per sq ft (psf).

Comparable project Parc Clematis has a median unit price of S$1,634 psf; Kent Ridge Hill Residences' median unit price was S$1,770 psf from January to last month, said Christine Sun, the head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie.

UOL's Clavon is an 80:20 joint venture between UOL and its subsidiary, United Industrial Corporation Limited.

Clavon offers units of between one and five bedrooms, the sizes of which range from 527 square feet (sq ft) to 1,690 sq ft. About 56 per cent of the 640 units in the development are one- and two-bedroom units of between 527 sq ft and 764 sq ft.

More than half the units are priced below S$1.5 million. A one-bedroom unit starts at S$800,000, a two-bedder from S$1 million, a three-bedder from S$1.45 million, a four-bedder from S$1.9 million and a five-bedder, from S$2.5 million.

Clavon is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

Asked about the overall private new-home sales market for this year, Mr Liam said that the market is stable and expressed hope that it will continue to move in a "sustainable manner".

In the year to October, new-home sales numbered 8,021.

He estimates total new-home sales to come in at 9,000 to 10,000 units for the year. Last year, total new-home sales stood at 9,912 units.

UOL closed on Wednesday at S$7.60, down 10 cents.