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Abolish ECs, suggests an expert

PropertyGuru

By Shabnam Muzammil: The recent debate over executive condominiums (ECs) has resulted in some experts calling for such housing to be scrapped altogether.

Alan Cheong, Research Head at Savills Singapore, suggested that the abolishment of ECs or another option being for the government to take full control of building ECs, could be a way to solve the disparity in the sale of quasi-public homes by developers at prices that are equivalent to private properties.

He added that the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) might require developers to pay for private enclosed spaces (PES) and include them in the gross floor area (GFA).

"In this instance, there is less free play for creative definitions of saleable space and the end product will fit closer to what a buyer intuitively expects from the defined size of a unit," said Cheong.

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Separately, DTZ recently said that the EC market is strong, having recorded one of the highest sales of 7,000 units in Q2 2012.

Commenting on the popularity of large EC units like super penthouses, one industry insider told PropertyGuru that some penthouses are referred to as "bungalows in the sky" and offer "landed-like living in a condo".

"Landed housing, with a garden is beyond the reach of majority of buyers, even the penthouse buyers. So staying in penthouses with PES will allow for gardens, outdoor dining, Jacuzzi etc.," said the source. Shabnam Muzammil, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email shabnam@allproperty.com.sg Related Stories: New cooling measures possibly looming: experts

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