In what context did Mr Lee Kuan Yew say that the value of HDB flats would never drop?
It is important to understand the context in which Mr Lee Kuan Yew made that statement. Mr Lee Kuan Yew spoke at the Launch of Tanjong Pagar Town Council’s Five-Year Masterplan and Opening of ABC Waters at Alexandra Canal on 19 March 2011. He spoke to his residents in Tanjong Pagar, a very mature estate with many […]
Leong Mun Wai’s suggestion to remove land costs will leave homeowners bleeding
In a Facebook post, Leong Mun Wai concedes that BTOs are indeed subsidised. He also agrees that the pricing of BTOs should take into account locational factors. He wants prices to be lowered further, and to achieve this, he wants land costs to be disregarded. However, one cannot factor in locational factors while ignoring land […]
Is your BTO less affordable today? Let’s dive into the math for the answer.
If we compare the prices of HDB flats today with the prices of HDB flats built 20 or 30 years ago, of course prices have gone up. But so has income. The rise in the prices of HDB flats are in line with income growth. The question is: is the BTO less affordable today? Let’s dive […]
Good news! Interest rates might have gone up but HDB concessionary rate for home loans remains unchanged
Have you heard of the CPF floor interest rates? Floor rates are the legislated minimum interest rates guaranteed to our CPF monies. It ensures that interest earned by our money in our CPF accounts does not go below the floor rates. The floor rate for savings in the Ordinary Account is 2.5%. And for savings […]
CPF contributions will soon be made mandatory for platform workers. NTUC calls for support during this transition.
TL:DR – Mandatory CPF contribution for platform workers from the part of both platform workers and platform companies are to kick in from the later part of 2024, at the earliest. NTUC will be rendering support during this transition. In his National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged the lack of basic […]
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 […]