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New portal to cut resale HDB flat transaction time by half to 8 weeks from next Jan

SINGAPORE — Buying a resale flat could soon take just eight weeks, or half the current duration, and involve just one trip, instead of two, to sign papers.

SINGAPORE — Buying a resale flat could soon take just eight weeks, or half the current duration, and involve just one trip, instead of two, to sign papers.

The whole process from after the Option to Purchase is exercised to the completion of the sale will become speedier and more convenient because certain submissions will be pushed online to a new portal from Jan 1 next year, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said on Thursday (Oct 19).

Currently, buyers and sellers have to attend two appointments, each spanning about eight weeks, with HDB. The first appointment is to work out the sellers' sales proceeds and the buyers' financial plan, including signing the Central Provident Fund (CPF) withdrawal and Home Protection Scheme forms. The second one is to sign legal documents and complete the resale transaction.

From Jan 1, the first appointment will be scrapped. Once users log in to the new portal with their SingPass to register their intent, their personal details will be extracted from MyInfo, the Government's digital identity vault, to fill application forms automatically.

They can then conduct various checks through the portal, including their eligibility to buy or sell a flat, apply for housing grants or a concessionary housing loan from HDB. The relevant forms at this stage can be endorsed digitally, unlike the current process. A new function on the portal allows buyers to request for the value of the unit they intend to buy.

Once the buyer exercises the Option to Purchase, the eight-week process begins around the time both parties submit their applications for the transaction. They can also confirm their sales proceeds and financial plans through the portal, instead of doing so at a HDB appointment, as is done currently.

Presently, a valuation of the flat is required for buyers intending to use their CPF or take up a housing loan to finance their purchase. HDB would assign a valuer to inspect and assess the market value of a resale flat, at a fee for S$156.45 or S$226 depending on the flat's size.

Under the new system, the role of the valuer would be redundant in most cases, and HDB would determine the value using "technology and transaction data to establish the reasonableness of a transacted price" for a fee of S$120.

When asked about the role of valuers going forward, HDB said: “Businesses involved in the property transaction processes can look forward to reduced form-filling and expedited completions. This will allow them to focus on higher value-added work and move up the value chain.”

This streamlined process will apply to cases where the Option to Purchase is granted by flat sellers from Jan 1 next year. For transactions where Option to Purchase has been granted before that, buyers and sellers will have to submit the resale application by March 31 next year.

In response to media queries, the HDB said that there will be no change to the role of estate agents. Sellers and buyers can still use their services to "advise and assist" with transactions.

However, the HDB noted that more buyers have been carrying out transactions without an agent. While only 11 per cent of buyers and sellers carried out their own transactions in 2010, the figure jumped to 27 per cent in the first half of this year.

"This upward trend could be due to the fact that resale flat buyers are generally younger and more tech-savvy than resale flat sellers," said a HDB spokesperson.

In a blog post on Thursday, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said that the portal was an example of how digital technology could streamline existing processes and bring convenience to people. "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," he said.

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