End of Property Boom in Sight?

As published in The Straits Times
31 March 08 (Monday)

HDB Resale Statistics - 4th Quarter 2007

Statistics for Punggol Resale Cases Registered
(4th Quarter 2007)

Median Resale Prices
4 rooms - $293,000
5 rooms - $358,000
Executive - $410,000

Median Cash-Over-Valuation
4 rooms - $27,000
5 rooms - $30,000
Executive - $35,000

Higher CPF grant for singles introduced

HDB introduces higher CPF grant for singles who live with parents

By Channel NewsAsia Posted: 27 March 2008 1126 hrs

SINGAPORE: Starting next month, single Singaporeans aged 35 and above who buy HDB resale flats to live together with their parents may apply for a higher CPF housing grant of S$20,000 if they meet the eligibility conditions.

The Housing and Development Board said this higher-tier singles grant will also apply to eligible singles buying the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flats with their parents.

Under the existing Single Singapore Citizen Scheme, single Singaporeans aged 35 and above can get a CPF housing grant of S$11,000 to buy a HDB resale flat.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng announced the above higher-tier singles grant in Parliament on 5 March.

It is a pro-family initiative to encourage children to look after their parents.

To qualify for the higher-tier singles grant, the eligible single must commit to living together with his/her parents in the resale flat for at least five years.

Within this minimum occupation period of five years, the parents cannot buy or take over the ownership of another HDB flat separately from this same single child, or invest in a private property.

All other prevailing policies such as the income ceiling, minimum occupation period for resale, resale levy liability, will apply.

Property agents said this new scheme is unlikely to have any impact on the market given the small segment it serves. — CNA/ac

Punggol LRT

The Punggol LRT Line serves the residents in the town and urban planning area of Punggol.

Punggol LRT Station, the centrepiece of the line, is located directly above the Punggol MRT Station, thus linking up the Punggol MRT Line to the Mass Rapid Transit system that spans the entire island of Singapore.

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The East Loop was opened on 29 January 2005. Oasis Station was opened on 15 June 2007 and Damai Station, as well as the entire West Loop, will be opened at a later date.

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Operating Hours (Punggol East Loop)
Daily from 5.20am to 12.45am

Frequency:
4 minutes (peak)
6 minutes (off peak)

Punggol 21 Reborn

...and jazzed up as well

As published in The Straits Times
20 Aug 2007

An elaborate plan to turn Punggol into a vibrant residential town is finally taking off, some years after shrinking demand for new homes stalled the project.

The plan, first launched as the Punggol 21 vision in the late 1990s, has also been jazzed up, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last night.

‘So this is Punggol 21-plus,’ said Mr Lee to chuckles from the audience.

Among other things, the north-eastern coastal suburb will have water sports facilities for kayaking and canoeing, gardens and parks with jogging and cycling tracks, and al-fresco dining.

The sprucing up of Punggol is part of the Housing Board’s bid to keep public housing estates relevant to new generations of Singaporeans, said Mr Lee.

‘Most Singaporeans live in public housing… so we are continually finding ways to improve our public housing and meet new needs and expectations.

‘Each new estate has been an improvement on the previous one,’ he said.

The transformation of Punggol, once known for pig farms and seafood restaurants serving chilli crab, was derailed by the Asian economic crisis of 1997.

Plans for around 80,000 private and HDB homes with parks and seaside villages housing shops and food stalls, had been announced a year earlier.

Construction began in 1998 but the brakes were jammed when demand for new flats nosedived. As a result, only some 16,000 flats, home to around 42,000 residents, dot the landscape there now.

But with Singapore’s sparkling economy of the past few years, demand for new homes is on the rise. Punggol will be the site of many of these.

Zooming in on high-resolution images on a screen, Mr Lee gave a blow-by-blow account of the area’s transformation.

For a start, the Punggol and Serangoon rivers will be dammed up to create a freshwater lake. A waterway will run through the estate, linking both rivers. Blocks of flats will dot its banks, starting from the town centre, which will have malls, retail outlets and outdoor dining.

‘If you look outside, it’ll be blue and green in lots of places. We’ll have trees, plants, shrubbery by the water… make it cool, make it eco-friendly. A good place to live,’ said Mr Lee, as the crowd ooh-ed and ah-ed.

The project will take some time to be completed, he said, as it involves some 18,000 HDB and private flats.

Logistics executive Chen Hui Zhen, 28, said she cannot wait to try out water sports. She has lived in the Punggol area for six years and recently bought a new flat there with her fiance.

‘It’s good news for us. All this development means the value of our flat will go up if we do think of selling it,’ she said.

Mr Lee also took the opportunity to highlight a development upstream of Punggol - in Sengkang.

There, a new community club with four swimming pools, an indoor sports hall and a football field is being built. There will also be a waterway for people to enjoy water sports and activities.

Going back to the Punggol 21-plus vision, Mr Lee said it will add to Singapore’s reputation as a city with ‘fun and buzz’.

But even as Singapore reinvents itself, it will need to retain the qualities the country is known for: being clean, green and safe, said Mr Lee.

‘It’s quite important that we keep that brand recognition, even as we acquire new attributes and new lifestyles.’

Historical Origins

Punggol has a long history. It is believed that one of the oldest settlements in Singapore, a Malay village named Kampong Punggol located in the vicinity of the Punggol Jetty, existed 200 years ago (before Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore). The original settlers then primarily depended on fishing for a living, with some planting of fruits and vegetables.

Punggol (also spelled Ponggol) is a Malay word meaning hurling sticks at the branches of fruit trees to bring the fruits down to the ground. It also refers to a place where fruits and forest produce are offered for wholesale.

From the mid 19th century onwards, Chinese immigrants started settling in Punggol. They were initally engaged in plantation work (mainly rubber), though poultry farming and pig rearing activities soon flourished. Farm produce, fruits and vegetables were traded in the marketplace at the former eighth milestone of Punggol Road. Fishermen sold their catch at the Serangoon River mouth where their boats were docked.

Kampong life gradually changed when basic amenities like piped water, electricity, paved roads, drainage systems and were even television were introduced in the 1960s. In the 1970s, the government began phasing out the poultry and pig farms. The vacated land were subsequently tendered out on short term leases for non-pollutive agricultural activities (eg. vegetable farming).

Punggol used to be known not only for the sumptuous seafood, but also for its many boatels that provided services like docking and renting of boats for boating, water-skiing and skin-diving lessons. These seafood restaurants and boatels have since been relocated to facilitate reclamation works.

The Kick Off

This photo marks the entrance to the Punggol estate. I found it on HDB's website and thought that it will make a significant start for my blog.

HDB launched Punggol 21 in 1996, as a 21st Century public housing town by the waterfront that incorporated new and exciting planning concepts. Officially, the town was launched on 08 July 2001.

As we go along, we will discuss more about the developments and revamped masterplan mapped out for Punggol.

For me, after staying here for the past 3 years, this is the place I have grown to love, and to call my home.

Punggol EC Site

The Government earlier announced the proposed sale of the Executive Condominium (EC) site at Punggol E4 (junction of Punggol Road & Punggol Field) in the second half of 2007. This site is now released for application under the Reserve List of the GLS Programme.

Click to enlarge Location Plan.



For enquiries, the public can call the following toll free lines:
(a) Sales/Resale Customer Service Line: 1800 866-3066
(b) SERS Enquiry Line: 1800 866-3070
(c) Branch Office Service Line: 1800 225-5432

Related Posts:
▪ Punggol EC fails to draw any bid
▪ No takers for Punggol EC site