Toa Payoh community care apartments monthly service fees, Digi Mart USA News (Singapore): Toa Payoh Hillside, the town’s first Prime project, has drawn strong demand as the government lowers the age threshold for community care apartments (CCAs) and subsidises some service fees. The application rate stood at 2.0 on the afternoon of the final day of the Build-To-Order flat sales exercise.
Prices before grants start at $151,000, while monthly fees for the Basic Service Package (BSP) range from $61 to $71, falling below $100 for the first time. The project is also Toa Payoh’s first CCA development, offering 256 units on 40-year leases in the November sales exercise.
As of 5pm on Wednesday (11 November), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) website showed that 509 people had applied.
HDB, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of National Development announced in July this year that the minimum application age for these flats would be lowered from 65 to 55, with BSP subsidies offered to eligible households. This means that people aged 55 and above who wish to downsize now have the option of community care apartments, in addition to two-room Flexi flats.
Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Group, noted that application rates for the previous three CCA projects in Bedok, Geylang and Sengkang were all below 1.0. He attributed the rise to 2.0 in this exercise to the sharp reduction in monthly BSP fees, which has eased the financial burden on seniors. Another factor was the high proportion of elderly residents in Toa Payoh, one of Singapore’s earliest HDB towns.
According to the latest population data, 43,610 seniors aged 55 and above live in HDB flats in Toa Payoh, accounting for nearly 36% of the town’s total HDB residents. Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at Realion (OrangeTee & ETC) Group, said the lower age threshold had widened the pool of potential buyers.
The project’s proximity to a Mass Rapid Transit station also made it popular, as it would be convenient for seniors to get around and for their children to visit.
All CCA residents must subscribe to the BSP, which provides assistance from community staff with simple daily tasks, a 24-hour emergency response service, and help with arranging additional care and support services, among other things. To ease the financial burden on residents, MOH streamlined the package following feedback from seniors to lower operating and administrative costs, while also subsidising some services.
Social activities for residents will now be organised by nearby Active Ageing Centres, with most activities free of charge. New CCA developments will therefore no longer need dedicated activity spaces, and the associated planning and maintenance costs will no longer be included in the package.
Emergency alert devices will also become optional, although residents who choose not to install them will still have access to 24-hour emergency support from staff.
Vanguard Healthcare, which is under MOH Holdings, is the service operator for CCAs. Its website shows that, following the streamlining of services, monthly BSP fees at the five existing projects have fallen from between $159 and $195 to between $104 and $140, excluding GST.
Monthly fees at Toa Payoh Hillside have been reduced further to between $61 and $71.
