Odds stacked against getting windfall from Sers
I refer to the report, “HDB leases: Buyers’ short-term focus may lead to future woes” (March 28).
I refer to the report, “HDB leases: Buyers’ short-term focus may lead to future woes” (March 28).
A check on the Housing and Development Board website shows that of the 80 Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) sites, 34 were announced between 1995 and 1999, 39 in the 2000s and only seven since 2010.
On average per year, there were 6.8 sites in the 1990s and 3.9 in the 2000s. In this decade so far, there has been only one site on average — four in 2011 and one each in 2012, 2014 and last year. With the increasing dearth of sites, any probability of a buyer paying a high price for a resale flat and getting a windfall from Sers is low.
It is like playing the lottery, but with a much higher stake and capital outlay.
The odds of winning are stacked against the buyer, whose guess at when and where the next site will be is as good as mine.
So why speculate?