Singapore single penalized by HDB housing policies
A36 year old Singaporean single lady by the name of Toh Siew
Peng has written a letter to the Straits Times Forum today to
complain about HDB’s discriminatory policies against singles.
Only married Singapore couples are permitted to buy new HDB
flats and qualified for the housing loan and grant.
Singles will have to wait till they are above 35 years of age to
buy a resale flat. However, PRs are not subjected to the same
restriction.
Miss Toh claimed in her letter that she wrote to HDB five years
ago to ask if she could buy a flat at age of 30 which was allowed,
but she did not proceed with the purchase because of the
“unattractive conditions” as she did not qualify for the HDB
housing loan and grant.
Now at 36 years of age, she wanted to buy a flat under the
singles scheme, but was rejected as her income exceeds $3,000.
She took issue with the fact that HDB “took the same
circumstances into consideration” in allowing her to buy a flat
five years ago, but not now.
“HDB staff advised me to get a bank loan, but I cannot fork
out the huge amount of cash upfront. The bank will loan me an
amount equivalent to only two times my monthly salary.
I feel that the HDB should increase the income ceiling. Five
to 10 years ago, a three- or four-room HDB resale flat was priced
from $150,000 to $250,000, but now the price has increased to
$280,000 to $350,000. In addition, there is the $20,000 to $40,000
cash upfront, “ she added.
The prices of HDB flats, especially that of resale flats have
sky-rocketed in recent years due to limited supply of new flats and
rising demand fueled by immigration.
Only about 3,100 new flats were built in the year 2008 when
there were more than 90,000 PRs and 20,000 new citizens in the same
year alone.
Singapore singles have no choice but to compete with PRs in the
resale market as they do not qualified to purchase new flats which
are to “encourage” Singaporeans to marry and start a family.
Singapore’s octogenarian leader Lee Kuan Yew admitted lately
that property prices have increased as a result of PRs and
foreigners:
“We’ve grown in the last five years by just importing
labour. Now, the people feel uncomfortable, there are too many
foreigners. Trains are overcrowded with foreigners, buses too,
property prices have gone up because foreigners with permanent
residence are buying into the market.”
[Straits Times, 28 January 2010]
An Indonesian PR “spoiled” the market lately by paying a record
$653,000 for a 4-room resale flat in Queenstown when he could well
afford a private condominium.
Prices continued to increase by 8.2 per cent in 2009 when
Singapore is mired in a recession and median Cash-Over-Valuation
(COVs) have doubled from $12,000 to $24,000 in one quarter
alone.
Though National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said he was
“caught off guard” by the rising prices, he is adamant that HDB
flats are “affordable” to ordinary Singaporeans.
To Singaporean singles like Miss Toh, they will either have to
get married to buy a cheaper BTO flat or wait till their parents
pass away to inherit a roof over their heads.
What's your view?
If you are in Miss Toh shoe, what would you do.
Let's discuss.
