Can I still afford a HDB flat?
Someone said that young graduates used to aspire to a 5-rm flat but now they can only afford a 4-rm flat. And a poly grad used to aspire to a 4-rm flat but now, they can only afford a 3-rm flat. When I was a young graduate, I was realistic of my financial ability and […]
99-year lease is only way to recycle land for future generations to buy BTOs
Today, over 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing. Compared to public housing in most parts of the world, our HDB flats and home ownership model is the exception rather than the norm. Singapore’s housing policies have been uniquely successful. We are the only major city in the world where nearly every young couple getting […]
Should land for public housing in Singapore be priced at a nominal rate?
You’ve heard this before: that land for HDB flats should be priced lower, even at a nominal fee of $1 because it is land for public housing. After all, land assets, as part of the reserves, belong to the people. The problem with this line of reasoning is that public housing in Singapore has taken […]
The suggestion that a government can arbitrarily decide on land value is a dangerous one
Let’s be clear. To begin with, the HDB does not price new flats based on costs, nor development or land costs. That much the Minister for National Development Desmond Lee has stressed. So the argument over how land should be valued is moot because land cost does not come into the equation. I suspect some […]
The ‘return my CPF’ fever has been soundly replaced by a voluntary top-up fever
Remember when the “Return My CPF” and “Vote them out” fever was so high? Multiple protests were organised at Hong Lim Park as speaker after speaker criticized the Government for holding back people’s money, for not keeping their promises and for losing their money. All kinds of claims were made about the retirement sum, minimum […]
HDB does not price new flats based on costs: Desmond Lee
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee recently gave a good explainer on the issue of land cost and HDB BTO Valuation in parliament. His explanation also covers why the HDB runs at a deficit of a couple or three billion dollars annually. Unfortunately, the parliament is a poor avenue for treating an important subject that […]
With increasing numbers of million-dollar HDB homes in Singapore, is public housing still affordable?
Since the end of the Circuit Breaker, demand for housing has pushed resale flats prices to a new high, with HDB resale prices rising for the 26th straight month in August 2022. The sale of million-dollar HDB did not slow down. In September 2022 alone, HDB recorded another 45 million-dollar HDB flats transaction, more than the 33 million-dollar […]
Where in the world has a Government produced homes for every family?
Singaporeans love to complain. They want their BTO fast. They want it cheap. And they want it big. For an island state that is so small – just 719 sq km – Singapore has managed to build homes for 85% of households. Countries with vast lands have not done so. While many governments have focused […]
I could not ask their sons to fight and die for the properties of the wealthy: Lee Kuan Yew
A newly independent Singapore needed to be able to defend herself. To this end, Mr Lee Kuan Yew decided to build a national service armed force. “If we could not defend ourselves, nobody, not even our people, would have faith in our future,” Mr Lee said in a speech made in 2000 made at the […]
What retirement? I’m ready for life! See you at “Ready for Life” Digital Festival!
You know what? Retirement is the beginning of new life. Yup! It’s the start of a golden chapter of life’s journey. You have to retire to do nothing. The things that you have always wanted to do but could not find time to do because there are datelines to meet and projects to handle. Now […]