Speech by Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, at the Committee of Supply Debate on Friday in Parliament.
- Meeting diverse housing aspirations
- Commitment to young couples, first-timers
- Focus on affordability and financial prudence
- Focus on owner-occupation
Mr Chairman, Sir, Public housing is a hot topic every year, but it is especially hot this year. That’s not surprising, since it is a subject that concerns every Singaporean. I thank Members for raising the concerns of the people and giving me a chance to respond.
This year, HDB celebrates its 50th birthday. It has been an outstanding half century. Recently, the international news service AFP described HDB as “a powerful agency whose projects have taken Singaporeans out of the slums and ghettos that once blighted the island and into multi-storey apartment buildings surrounded by shops, markets, banks, transport links and other essentials”. The United Nations and the World Bank have also commended our success in achieving quality public housing.
When HDB was formed in 1960, less than 10% of Singaporeans owned their homes. Housing was basic and functional. Today, 80% live in HDB flats that are of high quality and good design, in well maintained estates all over the island. Most importantly, they own their flats, a valuable asset which appreciates in value along with the long term growth of our country. This is a remarkable achievement, unique to Singapore.
Tags: Day-to-day Issues, hdb, Housing, on the news
BIG CONCESSION FOR DOWNGRADERS
SINGAPORE – When he said he was feeling the heat, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan was not referring to the weather, but the “exceptionally” high number of questions in Parliament on housing, he said in jest.
The 15 Members of Parliament who put questions and issues to his ministry included those who have been pushing for changes to certain housing policies for years – and on Friday, they got a significant concession.
Mr Mah announced that Singaporeans can now take a second concessionary loan from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to downgrade or buy a similar-sized flat.
This will benefit some 1,000 households per year.
Previously, they could only qualify for a concessionary loan, which incurs 2.6 per cent in interest, if they upgraded to a bigger flat. Earlier in the day, MPs Cedric Foo, Cynthia Phua and Ahmad Magad had pointed out again – for the final time – that they had constituents who, after selling off their existing flats, struggled to even downgrade and did not qualify for a bank or concessionary loan.
Noting how MPs have been raising this issue for a long time, Mr Mah said: “Some MPs also gave me feedback that by providing the second concessionary loan to households only for upgrading, this may inadvertently drive some to upgrade even though it may be more prudent for them not to do so.
“With greater economic volatility, the flexibility to right-size will become more important.”
The big policy change comes with conditions, though.
“To further encourage financial prudence”, HDB will reduce the size of the second concessionary loan by an amount equal to the full Central Provident Fund refund and half the cash proceeds from the sale of the first flat.
For instance, if a couple sell their flat and get a $60,000 CPF refund and $80,000 in cash proceeds, the CPF refund and $40,000 will have to go toward paying for their next flat.
“In other words, HDB would then grant them a loan which is $100,000 less,” he said.
But HDB will allow buyers to keep at least $25,000 of the cash proceeds if they get back less than $50,000.
Property firm Propnex chief executive Mohamed Ismail believes the policy change may lead to “an increase in market activity due to an increase in downgraders”. However, he said it was too soon to say if resale flat prices would rise.
On whether it will be cheaper for downgraders to take the second concessionary loan, Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak told MediaCorp it was difficult to tell with variables such as loan tenure and fluctuating bank interest rates.
In Parliament, Mdm Phua (Aljunied GRC) asked if the 50-per-cent criteria for cash proceeds could be lowered. Mr Mah said this applied to nett proceeds and that he would review “whether it’s too high or too low” after the scheme has been implemented.
The minister also announced that HDB will raise the minimum occupation period (MOP) for all resale flats bought to three years. Currently, flats bought with a concessionary loan have an MOP of 2.5 years, while those bought without have an MOP of one year.
The extension of the MOP is to “foster owner-occupation, and (is) not about affordability per se”, said Mr Mah.
Property experts felt this measure would have little impact on prices. “Most HDB buyers are not buying their flats with the aim to flip,” said Mr Ismail.
Last year, 9 per cent, or 3,000 households, sold their resale flats within three years of purchase.
(via TodayOnline)
Tags: Day-to-day Issues, hdb, Housing, on the news
It’s a good start towards doing our part to lessen the waste we produce, and work towards a greener Earth.
SINGAPORE – Going greener is just a lift ride away.
Residents in Canberra constituency used to haul their recyclables to a bin that could be located a few blocks away. Now, they need only bring them downstairs.
A six-month pilot project now provides for one recycling bin per Housing and Development Board block instead of one for every five blocks.The first of its kind in Singapore, it was launched yesterday by the constituency, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and SembWaste.
It involves about 1,500 units in 14 blocks in Admiralty Drive.
But there is a trade-off – the fortnightly door-to-door collection of recyclable rubbish within the blocks has been suspended for the same period to gauge residents’ willingness to bring their items down for recycling.
Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC Lim Wee Kiak said he does not expect many complaints. Residents like to get rid of their recyclables as soon as possible, rather than collecting them for two weeks.
“We want to increase the recycling rate. The current (national) rate of 56 per cent is very good, but the target of 60 per cent recycling rate by 2012 is something we all have to work together,” said Dr Lim.
“Some residents complain it’s too far for them to walk (to the bins). So to entice them further, (it’s) better to bring the recycling bins closer.”
Dr Lim said he will push for the project to be a national programme if NEA’s evaluation shows the pilot project to be successful.
An additional 10 bins plus more manpower is now required and these will increase costs by up to 15 per cent, said SembCorp Environment’s senior vice-president for asset management C K Lim.
A corresponding 15 to 20 per cent increase in recyclables is needed to generate more revenue as the company is not charging extra for its service.
For now, one challenge is to educate residents on which items can be recycled.
The bins can be contaminated by food waste which turn all the recyclables into “rubbish”, said Mr Tan Puay Cheow, NEA’s executive engineer for waste minimisation.
Resident Oh Ah Moy, 70, said, “It’s very convenient to have the bins downstairs … (going to the bins) is like exercise.”
Having a recycling bin under each block might also increase their awareness. Mdm Li, a resident for 10 years, did not even know there were such bins in her estate. ALICIA WONG
(via todayonline 11Jan2009)
Tags: Day-to-day Issues
The 5room flats for SkyVille @ Dawson and SkyTerrace @ Dawson and ranges between $532,000-$643,000.
According to HDB estimates, taking a midpoint pricing for the 5room flats, with a median salary of $6,500, the monthly installment over 30 years would be $2,108.
Gross pay: $6,500
Nett pay (after CPF): 0.8*6500 = $5,200
Mortgage payble via CPF = approx $856
Remaining pay (after mortgage): 5200-(2108-856) = $3,948
Going to the extreme end, because only applicants with salaries $8k and below can apply for new HDB flats, the people buying the most expensive HDB flats would be making at most $8k. Monthly installment would be $2,317.
If you have a car, petrol, car installments, insurance and maintenance costs could easily knock off $1,500 from the remaining pay, making it really tight for a family to get by on. Add in a maid to care for the kids, and that’s another $512 gone. The remaining pay has to pay for property tax, conservancy fees, mobile lines, gas/electricity/water, food, cable, holidays etc.
If the family is debt-free (ie. no credit line or credit card loans to pay off, no car installments to pay), the monthly installments are quite still manageable. If laden with huge financial responsibilities, it’s wiser to get a cheaper flat.
What about looking at it from an investment standpoint?
Comparing the Dawson flat prices with recent sales of resale HDB flats at Strathmore Ave, which is right next to the Dawson site, 5room flats sold between $618,000-$750,000. Comparing to Duxton launch prices of $532,000-$643,000, it’s considered getting the flats at a discount, especially with the 5room-loft units.
Pinnacle @ Duxton is the most recent ‘expensive’ project to be completed. There were some left over units after the 1st round of balloting in 2004, and these units were released in 2008. A $439,400 flat rose 47% over the 4.5 years of construction. Imagine what these flats would be worth, with it’s prime location, in 5 years time, when these new flat owners are then eligible to sell off their flats?
So is Dawson worth subscribing for? If you can afford it, and from an investment standpoint, it seems to make sense. But yet on the other hand, it is a gamble if you’re stretching yourself to pay for the flat. HDB prices could always take a tumble if something happens in future.
Tags: Housing, investment
With the standard of living increasing with each very day, flats costing two arms and two legs, it’s no wonder there’s always a long Q outside the various Singapore Pool outlets. As the line from the local movie The Best Bet goes: “有买有希望，没买没希望。” Translated, it just means ‘If you buy, at least there’s hope. If you don’t buy, confirm no hope lar!‘
Recently, a friend of mine migrated to Australia. He told me that in Australia, they’ve taken lottery to a whole new level: You can now buy lottery online, with a just a few clicks! And what’s even more interesting, is that it is not only restricted to Australians, but virtually the whole world. Imagine the amount of revenue collected by the Australian government each year from international gamblers.
I wonder how long it’ll take for Singapore Pools to get online, especially with Singapore on the path to becoming a gambling hub. They already have account phone betting through their ‘Poolz Connect’. Ka-ching! The sweet sound of money rolling into the Government coffers!
I don’t think Singapore’s online lottery will attract much people from around the world though. Our prize pool is too small. Imagine, our lottery only hit amounts as high as $10 million a couple of times a year, whereas Australia’s 2nd January draw is a whopping AUD$30 million, and with weekly lotto draws in the millions! How to compete?
And to encourage people to try them out, the first game is on them. Good marketing I must say. Everything is so streamlined and automated. You pay online, and your winnings are automatically credited into the payment of your choice, which includes paypal.
The odds of being struck by lightning is higher than that of winning the lottery. But the fact that such lotteries exist proves that people would still buy lottery tickets. How much does hope cost? Apparently, hope starts from just $1, and the first one’s on the house!
Tags: Day-to-day Issues, gambling
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