That's cause so far flats have only been around on a massive
scale for about 50 yrs max. Once the lease runs to about 30 yrs,
you are sunk with a declining value property for sure.
This scenario goes against the argument of wanting "property
owners" rather than renters so that they have more stake and will
upkeep their property.
The more "renovations" "upkeep" you put into mortar and bricks is
NOT yours at the end of the day, so you put your money into other
things that you can take with you.
The solution for permanence and belonging is to create
"Ancestor-class" flats which are huge flats that 2-3 generations of
NS serviced, native-Singaporeans can buy, freehold, together, and
set up in trust, with a professional plus family nominated
management of the property.
These properties will be like the villages/mansions, estates of
people from larger countries who can identify their roots.
We will have a situation where people can then say, they hail from
Ghim Moh, or from Sembawang, and their "ancestral" lodgings will
remain theirs in perpetuity.
These properties will serve as respite for smaller family nuclei
who are down and out. (Many of my friends in US/Europe, when they
lose their jobs, failed business, etc.) can always GO HOME. The
ancestral properties are large enough to accomodate them, keep
their belongings for storage for a long time, a bastion of peace in
a life of struggle and competition.
We need that to bolster a sense of tradition and nationhood by
forming new tribe spaces in a Singaporean context.
