The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will be enhancing the Housing Developers Rules (HDR) and the Housing Developers (Control & Licensing) Act (HDCLA) to give more home buyers better access to timely information about the market and units which they are planning to purchase, said Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan.

This means that if the new rules pass, developers must release home prices at least two days before launching the projects.

In connection with this, the URA is seeking public feedback on key proposed changes, which also include stricter requirements for project plans and showflats. The URA is putting the proposals up for public consultation and changes could kick in by the third quarter, affecting developers of private residential projects, executive condominiums (ECs) and design, build and sell scheme (DBSS) sites.

The key proposed changes which the URA is seeking public feedback on include the setting up of accurate showflats that depict the actual units, making available the price list, providing more mandatory information on housing projects, providing developers’ track record, publishing transacted prices, obtaining buyers’ consent for changes to the project and extending advertising controls on websites.

Meanwhile, the URA has stated that a project is considered once the developers grant options-to-purchase (OTPs), regardless of whether sales occur during an official launch or a VIP preview.

A URA spokesman said that developers may adjust prices after units have been launched for sale. However, some industry watchers feel that this rule could have a negative impact on developers, as they already have flexibility in pricing units