Thursday, March 09, 2006

Revised resale levy on 2nd subsidised flat

The recent revision in resale levy on 2nd subsidised flat gives something to cheer for in the resale market when the levy is set at a fixed amount.

For example, a flat owner selling his executive flat in Mei Ling St would fetch the price ranging from $480,000 - $510,000. If he book his 2nd subsidised flat from HDB, he would have to pay (before revision) 25% resale levy (based on resale price or 90% of the market valuation, whichever is higher) which works out to $120,000-$127,500. Now he has only to pay $50,000. A hefty saving.

With this much of savings in resale levy, it would prompt more home owners to sell off their current flat to get a 2nd subsidised flat. But I don't think it will cause much franzy since the location of new HDB units are, in my opinion, far away.

However, on the other end of the spectrum, a 2-room flat owner may not welcome this change. The average selling price of a 2-room flat is about $100,000-$110,000. The resale levy is 10% which works out to be $10,000-$11,000. But after the revision, he has to pay $15,000 fixed amount. Obviously, these flat owners will be discouraged to get a 2nd subsidised flat.

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