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7 Aug 2012, 1.38PM

8 comments & replies |by REACH Administrator | Our Neighbourhood

At least 20,000 new flats will be offered next year. This is part of the Government’s commitment to build at least 100,000 flats over five years.

HDB plans to launch another 3,000 balance flats next month, which were unsold in previous exercises, and another 8,000 new flats by the end of this year. By end of the year, 50,000 flats would have been launched over last year and this year.

This was announced by Minister for National Development Mr Khaw Boon Wan yesterday on his blog [http://mndsingapore.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/making-steady-progress/]. He said, “I expect this sustained supply to firmly stabilise the housing market. This will give Singaporeans many options as they make their flat purchases prudently and wisely.”

Mr Khaw also shared the application rates for first-timers and second timers in his blog. The application rate of first timers, or of those who have yet to enjoy a housing subsidy, remains below 2 at 1.7, while the application rate of second-timers is 11.4, a drop from the rate of 25 at the start of the year. “This means there is more certainty for the second-timers to get a flat”, said Mr Khaw.

Read Mr Khaw’s blog post "Making Steady Progress" for more information.

What are your views on this?

846 views | 8 comments & replies |

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Guest

8 Aug 2012, 8.43AM

Government should not allow HDB flats to be rented out at all. Many people are renting out HDB flats illegally. There are PRs buying resale flats and then rent out by partitioning the flat into several sections to foreigner workers or other PRs! Shut the door to HDB rental and leave that to the private sector. HDB is supposed to be subsidised housing, it should not be a tool to generate income at the expense of those who really need affordable public housing! Besides, all these rentals are driving up the AV of neighbouring units whose owners are not renting out, and making owner occupiers pay higher property taxes whent they are not earning extra income from their flats!

Mr Khaw, please look into the fairness of the current property taxation principle on owner occupiers and those who are earning extra income from their properties!

Guest

8 Aug 2012, 5.54PM

Agree. We should not allow PR to rent out their hdb flat. It is time to look into the fairness of the current property taxation principle on owner occupiers and those who are earning extra income from their properties.

Guest

7 Aug 2012, 3.04PM

So HDB is ramping up housing supply. Okay. But what about housing prices? That's a different issue altogether. After all this while, housing is still expensive. And please don't quote to me Tharman's $1000 claim, that's just pure nonsense.

If you sell high, you also have to buy high. If housing prices rise faster than our incomes, how hard will our children and their children have to work to lease (not buy) their flats from HDB?

Guest

7 Aug 2012, 3.07PM

I still feel the cost of HDB flats can be lower, can build 2 room flats more so that next time, singles can buy resale HDB flats.

Guest

8 Aug 2012, 10.42AM

HDB does not have to ram up supply of flats if our immigration policies are right.
Ram up supply of flats for who???

Foreingers and PRs?

Guest

9 Aug 2012, 9.59AM

Building 100,000 flats in 5 years is a medium term solution. Is it enough? Judging from the price increase despite economic headwinds, it is not enough.

The immediate action to take is to reduce the number of foreigners in Singapore. Stop the PEP scheme. Foreigners on PEP scheme has 6 months to look for a job and the salary requirement is only $35,000 a year. This requirement is very low and it is high time we review this.

For certain industry such as casino, do not allow new WP/SP/EP. Either employ Singaporean or automate.

For companies that have an uneven distribution of foreigners to Singaporeans, make them pay extra levy. I cannot understand why some retail shops can be staffed entirely by foreigners.

Do we have enough HDB flats for Singaporeans. We may have enough after HDB build the 100,000 flats but currently there is shortage. In the meantime, we have Singaporeans/PR owning both HDB and private properties, buying even more private properties. On the other hand, we have Singaporeans that do not qualify for new HDB and with no other property to their name. We should consider restricting this practice of owning both HDB and private property until the 100,000 HDB flats are built, and resale HDB drop to a more reasonable level.

Guest

9 Aug 2012, 12.03PM

How about those who have no choice but to go for resale flat? How will introducing more BTO help us? Don't know what to do? I tell you what to do.

HDB should do one of the following:

1. Abolish COV or

2. Allow housing grant to be cashed out to pay COV.

Introducing more BTO flats is only solving the housing shortage problem right before our eyes, the core problem is the astronomical housing price, Chinese say, 治标不治本.

How will it help to reduce the housing price? Unless you tell valuators to undervalue. The problem is they evaluate using last price which include COV asked by last owner, then they give the new valuation price, the current seller will add COV, it will keep increasing, you call this market force? I call it bullsh1t.

Then you think what is being evaluated? Location, amenities, interior etc. Now you think why owner ask for more COV. Same thing, so what is the point of COV since what needs to be considered to determine selling price has been considered by valuators??? It's like applying GST 2 times to one item.

Then worse still, BTO prices is adjusted based on nearby resale flat prices, adjusted to the so-called "market force". Like that die la. How come HDB still don't see this problem and react, really want younger generation to pay 50 year loan? Problem is, will they be able to afford or not?

And what is the point of growing our home value? If we were to stay in Singapore, we upgrade, also have to pay "market price", not sure profit, unless like PR, they can stay in their homeland, rent out the whole HDB flat in Singapore, like that sure profit. Yes, PR SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO RENT OUT WHOLE HDB FLAT. How many times must we say then HDB will understand? I would also say, nobody should be allowed to rent out whole HDB flat, whether Singaporean or PR. The point is, HDB flat is public housing, public housing is meant for resident to stay, you rent out whole unit, means you don't need the flat, so please go live in your private property, don't come char kway teow in public housing.

But I don't think HDB regard resale flat as public housing, just look at how it has transformed, with COV, people renting out whole units, just what is going on. Mr. Khaw, so either you declare resale flat is not public housing or you do something about it, don't allow the contradiction to carry on any further.

Guest

7 Aug 2012, 11.03PM

After either deliberately squeezing supply for 7 years or so prior to 2011 (or worse still falling asleep during that period), it is going to take more than just talk of more supply to pacify people. As one other contributor noted, after all this talk of increase in supply people still find high prices.