A new norm for future SERS
2nd July 2022 set an important marker in Singapore’s housing history. Minister for National Development Mr. Desmond Lee had announced a 50-year leased for 3 room and larger unit for Ang Mo Kio SERS residents. A gesture to mitigate a growing discontent among seniors who were asked to top up $100K if they wanted to have a replacement flat of the same size.
The 50-year lease option is an appropriate move to address such concern. Older folks who had limited or no income nor the required amount in their CPF are compounded by the inability to get any loans from the bank had been worrying about financing and keeping a roof over their heads since the SERS announcement on 7th April 2022. HDB’s one to one session hasn’t help as their standard reply was always asking us to downgrade to smaller unit.
With the 50-yr lease, any resident who is age 45 years and above can opt for a replacement flat of the same size without the need of topping up. Of course this is not a silver bullet for everyone. But for aging folks who lives with their spouse and had no other desire to pass the house to their kids, this is the most ideal proposition. And like it or not, even without SERS, our 42-yr old flat along with other million dollar HDB flats would also eventually have to face the reality of decaying lease, reduced market value and eventually tore down to make way for new development.
The advantages of having a new 50-yr flat for aging folks are with less maintenance issues, a new environment and no need to worry about financing the home.
Was glad that Minister for National Development Mr. Desmond Lee dropped by to address the concerns of AMK residents personally on 2nd July 2022.
I was listening to Mr. Desmond Lee’s speech on the AMK SERS during the 4th July 2022 Parliament sitting.
One very important point he mentioned about AMK Drive was “AMK Drive will have their own range of amenities when the development is complete“. It was a 5 seconds sentence but gave important clues to that plot of land at AMK Dr. Currently AMK SERS Replacement flat only occupy #1 parcel of the land and there are still 2 empty parcel of lands #2 & #3 undeveloped.
Some may argue that it takes 10 – 20 years for such amenities to complete and they do not have the time to wait or live to see that day.
All I can say is everything around takes time to accomplished. From 3rd world kampong to current 1st world city. Now we have well connected buses and MRTs, covered walkways all around estates and many well thought out amenities. If my great grand parents knew all these would be occurring, they would also accept the fact that they will not get to enjoy these conveniences in their given lifetime. We can only hope if ever we have the chance to pass down our home to the next generation, they will benefit from the completed project and enjoy it during their lifetime.
What happens to the value of the property after 50 years?
The scheme is so new that even experts in real estate sector are unable to predict how it will impact the value of the AMK replacement flats once it reaches its Minimum Occupation Period and some residents start to put their unit on sale.
For the 1st time we will see 2 similar size 5-year old units put up for sale in the market with huge differences in their pricing as one of them is left with 44 years of remaining lease. I guess we shall see in 2033.