HDB and condos have many diferences, but the only similarity that matters is both goes to zero at end of lease. So the ministers are right!
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Serious It's Official! Sinkies Own Their HDB Flat! Oppies, Pls Stop Spreading Lies That HDB Is A Long-term Tenancy!
- Thread starter JohnTan
- Start date
HDB and condos have many diferences, but the only similarity that matters is both goes to zero at end of lease. So the ministers are right!
only this line made sense! Ang Mohs are the best!
Good digging to show that the people are digging and not letting go. This 'subletting' of the digging to the people is an effective part of 'DONE TO' process. This courtyard is a good place to serve sweet and bitter beverages but it's open and noisy. Need a conducive room to collate, digest, assimilate and store. A new organ?
After the reclassification of the mesentery, a new organ was purportedly found.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1309956259136629
comforting to know but link not found. Cheers.
Got it, thanks. Nice to know it's related to the study of Life.
Techbically a 99year leasehold means you own the tenancy right (limited to 99years) which can be sold for a profit. Whereas for freehold, you are the owner the property. Minister wasn't wrong to say you are the owner except he didn't tell you that it the tenancy right he was referring to.
Yes defend them. But dont mention the part where lky says flats will increase in price forever
lky says flats will increase in price forever
and repeated and reinforced by LHL and his PAP ministers.
I love the word 'NEVER'. Singaporeans WILL also learn to appreciate and love this word from our GREAT LEEder. In him we trust.
This is one very BIG BLACK HOLE. Dig and stir, dig and stir. LEEders dig, Singaporeans STIR.
...until majority of Singaporeans start to stir and awaken...
Only 29% of CPF is for retirement purposes actually.CPF used to be Savings for Retirement, HDB used to be affordable housing for the masses.
No thanks to the minimum sum and massive holes poked into CPF, sky rocketing prices simply adds salt to the wound. Now adding CPF Life, Medishield Life and what-nots...
The main purpose of CPF is to buy property, says study by LKYSPP.
99.co
6 ridiculous things ministers in Singapore have said about property
Zareen B. Zareen B.
49 years ago
Ministers in Singapore sure do say the darndest things sometimes!
Ministers in Singapore sure do say the darndest things sometimes!
Property ownership is a pretty dry topic. But once in a while, ministers in Singapore say things that really make us Singaporeans sit up and take note (sometimes for the wrong reasons).
To that end, here’s a countdown of some of the more shocking things ministers in Singapore have said about property in the past few years!
6. When Khaw Boon Wan Likened Executive Condominiums to Luxury Cars
Back in 2013, there was much discontent amongst Singaporeans who were being priced out of the EC market by developers accused of inflating the costs of EC units by building larger-than-average units.
For example, developers of Heron Bay built a 2,845 sq ft penthouse unit which sold for $1.77 million, while a 4,349 penthouse at CityLife@Tampines was sold for a record $2.05 million! These were outrageous prices when you consider ECs are meant to be public housing for the middle class Singaporean.
While rolling out a slew of measures to curb such occurrences, Minister Khaw Boon Wan made the rather tone deaf remark that Singaporeans were getting EC units (which were like Lexus cars) at the low, low price of a Toyota Corolla.
Perhaps not the best-timed remark, seeing as they were discussing $1 – $2 million penthouses – not exactly mid-range vehicle prices! His comments obviously didn’t go down too well with most Singaporeans, and were roundly criticised for long afterwards!
5. When Lee Kuan Yew Issued a Not-So-Subtle Warning to Aljunied Voters
The late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is credited as being the founding father of Singapore. And like any good parent, he was always ready to advise (or admonish) his children if he found them misbehaving.
That’s why when there were rumblings of Aljunied voting for the Worker’s Party in the 2011 elections, the Minister Mentor was quick to warn residents of the potential folly of their choice, i.e. the likely loss in property values should the Worker’s Party win instead of the People’s Action Party.
4. When Khaw Boon Wan Compared Serving Out MOPs to Serving National Service
National Service is serious business in Singapore: it’s 2 years of a young man’s life that’s sacrificed to serving, and learning how to protect our country.
So when Minister Khaw Boon Wan encouraged Singaporeans who could afford private housing to purchase HDB flats instead, and to consider the 5-year minimum occupation period as a form of National Service, lets just say that didn’t go down too well with most Singaporeans – particularly the men!
3. When Lim Kin San Asked Singaporeans to Choose Between Their Grandparents and their Grandchildren
Minister Lim Kin San was another heavyweight in Singapore’s history, acknowledged as being responsible for breaking the back of Singapore’s acute housing shortage in the 1960s.
He was also of the no-nonsense variety, and had no time for sentimentalities when it came to fixing our nation’s housing crisis.
That’s why when he was approached by a delegation of elders (including his own relatives!) who asked him to abandon his plans to acquire cemetery land in Tiong Bahru to build housing, he countered with straight up emotional blackmail: did they care more for their grandchildren, or their dead grandparents?
Pretty much a mic drop moment right there.
2. When Tharman Shanmugaratnam Said that People Earning $1,000 Could Afford to Buy HDB Flats
Minister Tharman Shanmugeratnam raised quite a few eyebrows (and tempers!) during the Budget 2012 debate when he mentioned that an income of $1,000 would be enough to buy an HDB flat.
Outrage poured out online, with many Singaporeans accusing him of being out of touch with the every day Singaporean’s plight at a time when property prices in Singapore were at some of the highest they’d been in years (reaching its peak in 2013).
Minister Shanmugeratnam’s argument has been backed up by several ministers, but it still stands out amongst Singaporeans as one of the most shocking things said by a Minister.
1. When Josephine Teo Advised on How Much Space Couples Needed to Have Sex
Probably my favourite quote on this list, this gem came from Minister Josephine Teo when she was questioned about the practicality of the Parenthood Priority Scheme.
Under the Scheme, couples need to be expecting a child, or have a child under 16 years of age before they can apply for a flat. For many couples however, it was important that they have the flat first before they conceived to avoid the space constraints of bringing up a child while living with their parents, or having to spend money on rent, while they waited for their flats to be built.
Minister Teo, however, seemed to view it as a question of how much space they’d need for the baby-making process.
Her off the mark response prompted a flurry of online comments, articles and memes, and we’re guessing it’s not something she’ll be able to live down any time soon.
Have a good quote from ministers in Singapore to add to the list? Share them in our comments section below!
Share this on WhatsApp
Categories: Property News, Home & Living
Leave a Comment
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6 ridiculous things ministers in Singapore have said about property
Zareen B. Zareen B.
49 years ago
Ministers in Singapore sure do say the darndest things sometimes!
Ministers in Singapore sure do say the darndest things sometimes!
Property ownership is a pretty dry topic. But once in a while, ministers in Singapore say things that really make us Singaporeans sit up and take note (sometimes for the wrong reasons).
To that end, here’s a countdown of some of the more shocking things ministers in Singapore have said about property in the past few years!
6. When Khaw Boon Wan Likened Executive Condominiums to Luxury Cars
Back in 2013, there was much discontent amongst Singaporeans who were being priced out of the EC market by developers accused of inflating the costs of EC units by building larger-than-average units.
For example, developers of Heron Bay built a 2,845 sq ft penthouse unit which sold for $1.77 million, while a 4,349 penthouse at CityLife@Tampines was sold for a record $2.05 million! These were outrageous prices when you consider ECs are meant to be public housing for the middle class Singaporean.
While rolling out a slew of measures to curb such occurrences, Minister Khaw Boon Wan made the rather tone deaf remark that Singaporeans were getting EC units (which were like Lexus cars) at the low, low price of a Toyota Corolla.
Perhaps not the best-timed remark, seeing as they were discussing $1 – $2 million penthouses – not exactly mid-range vehicle prices! His comments obviously didn’t go down too well with most Singaporeans, and were roundly criticised for long afterwards!
5. When Lee Kuan Yew Issued a Not-So-Subtle Warning to Aljunied Voters
The late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is credited as being the founding father of Singapore. And like any good parent, he was always ready to advise (or admonish) his children if he found them misbehaving.
That’s why when there were rumblings of Aljunied voting for the Worker’s Party in the 2011 elections, the Minister Mentor was quick to warn residents of the potential folly of their choice, i.e. the likely loss in property values should the Worker’s Party win instead of the People’s Action Party.
4. When Khaw Boon Wan Compared Serving Out MOPs to Serving National Service
National Service is serious business in Singapore: it’s 2 years of a young man’s life that’s sacrificed to serving, and learning how to protect our country.
So when Minister Khaw Boon Wan encouraged Singaporeans who could afford private housing to purchase HDB flats instead, and to consider the 5-year minimum occupation period as a form of National Service, lets just say that didn’t go down too well with most Singaporeans – particularly the men!
3. When Lim Kin San Asked Singaporeans to Choose Between Their Grandparents and their Grandchildren
Minister Lim Kin San was another heavyweight in Singapore’s history, acknowledged as being responsible for breaking the back of Singapore’s acute housing shortage in the 1960s.
He was also of the no-nonsense variety, and had no time for sentimentalities when it came to fixing our nation’s housing crisis.
That’s why when he was approached by a delegation of elders (including his own relatives!) who asked him to abandon his plans to acquire cemetery land in Tiong Bahru to build housing, he countered with straight up emotional blackmail: did they care more for their grandchildren, or their dead grandparents?
Pretty much a mic drop moment right there.
2. When Tharman Shanmugaratnam Said that People Earning $1,000 Could Afford to Buy HDB Flats
Minister Tharman Shanmugeratnam raised quite a few eyebrows (and tempers!) during the Budget 2012 debate when he mentioned that an income of $1,000 would be enough to buy an HDB flat.
Outrage poured out online, with many Singaporeans accusing him of being out of touch with the every day Singaporean’s plight at a time when property prices in Singapore were at some of the highest they’d been in years (reaching its peak in 2013).
Minister Shanmugeratnam’s argument has been backed up by several ministers, but it still stands out amongst Singaporeans as one of the most shocking things said by a Minister.
1. When Josephine Teo Advised on How Much Space Couples Needed to Have Sex
Probably my favourite quote on this list, this gem came from Minister Josephine Teo when she was questioned about the practicality of the Parenthood Priority Scheme.
Under the Scheme, couples need to be expecting a child, or have a child under 16 years of age before they can apply for a flat. For many couples however, it was important that they have the flat first before they conceived to avoid the space constraints of bringing up a child while living with their parents, or having to spend money on rent, while they waited for their flats to be built.
Minister Teo, however, seemed to view it as a question of how much space they’d need for the baby-making process.
Her off the mark response prompted a flurry of online comments, articles and memes, and we’re guessing it’s not something she’ll be able to live down any time soon.
Have a good quote from ministers in Singapore to add to the list? Share them in our comments section below!
Share this on WhatsApp
Categories: Property News, Home & Living
Leave a Comment
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Mothership Explains: Why most S'poreans own their homes instead of renting
Home ownership is a largely-unquestioned norm in S'pore, but how did it come about?Nigel Chua |
The vast majority of people in Singapore own their homes — 87.9 per cent as of 2020, to be precise. This makes home ownership rates here among the highest in the world.
Singapore is also an outlier in the way that over 80 per cent of the population lives in public housing, in the ubiquitous high-rise Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks built by the government, on land owned by the government.
Over the years, some have questioned whether HDB owners truly own their flats, given that if and when HDB 99-year leases do run down, they have to be returned to the government with no compensation, and no extensions — a point aptly driven home with the expiry of 60-year leasehold terrace houses at Geylang Lorong 3 in Dec. 2020.
But the state of housing in Singapore is still widely lauded as a success story, with one observer calling it "the best public housing program in the world" in an article for the World Bank.
After all, in many countries, public housing projects can become ghettoes, as they tend to be the "last resort" option for those who cannot afford anything better.
In contrast, countless examples of immaculately renovated HDB apartments suggest that public housing can indeed be quite liveable.
But there is a type of public housing in Singapore that does not buck the trend of being the "last resort" — public rental housing.
A worrying trend in public rental housing
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted a worrying trend in public rental housing in his National Day Rally speech last month: The proportion of Malay households in rental flats has increased, according to the Census 2020 survey.
PM Lee flagged this as an issue, saying that there was a need to "help more households in rented flats recognise that renting is only a temporary housing solution" (emphasis ours).
Masagos Zulkifli, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, told the media after PM Lee's speech that the government was concerned over the possibility that families living in rental flats might "get used to it", and not aspire to own their homes, TODAY reported.
He was further quoted saying that the message from the authorities to these homeowners was that they "must aspire to own homes, because this is an asset that every Singaporean should have and should not give up on".
These latest comments reflect a long-standing government policy geared toward encouraging people in Singapore to own their homes, rather than renting.
It's a policy that has resulted in home ownership being much more feasible for the average Singaporean, as compared to renting permanently.
How did this come to be the case?
History of home ownership policies in Singapore
As with many of Singapore's longstanding government policies, the story of this one starts more than 50 years ago, with none other than founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
As Lee Kuan Yew wrote in his memoirs:
He explained two reasons why home ownership was a priority: Political stability, and a sense of ownership in Singapore's future.
The political stability consideration was explained as such:
As for giving people a sense of ownership, Lee Kuan Yew pointed to the fact that Singapore's new society had "no deep roots in a common historical experience".
He ventured that if a soldier's family did not own their home, "he would soon conclude he would be fighting to protect the properties of the wealthy."
Thus, he wanted to "give all parents whose sons would have to do national service a stake in the Singapore their sons had to defend."
Home ownership is about nation building
Today, echoes of the founding PM's sentiments are still heard.
HDB 2013/2014 annual report — which also marked the 50th anniversary of the Home Ownership for the People Scheme — reads:
Home ownership takes care of retirement needs
Ultimately, there was also a pragmatic concern behind getting people to own their homes: Retirement adequacy.
The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board describes home ownership as one of two "twin pillars of retirement adequacy", since retired homeowners would not need to make use of their retirement funds to pay rental fees.
How did the government achieve 80 per cent home ownership?
The government wielded a few key policies since the 1960s to nudge Singaporeans towards home ownership.
These include allowing retirement savings to be used for housing needs, "Asset Enhancement" which made HDB homes attractive investments, extensive subsidies for new homeowners, as well as restricting the development of the rental market through compulsory land acquisition and other controls.
Allowing retirement savings to be used for housing needs
Today, using one's CPF savings to pay for a home is a common practice.
It originated in 1968, and was a policy rolled out to — you guessed it — help more people in Singapore own homes, by allowing them to dip into their locked-away mandatory retirement savings to finance the purchase of a HDB flat. Now, CPF savings can be used to help finance both public and private housing.
Those who use their CPF for housing would have less retirement savings when they do actually retire, meaning that the policy was a tradeoff between the twin aims of retirement adequacy and promoting home ownership.
However, this was an acceptable compromise, given that retirees who owned their homes would not need to spend on accommodation, bringing their retirement expenditure down.
"Asset Enhancement Programme"
The value of homes have consistently risen over time, also under the influence of government policy.
In 1990s, an "Asset Enhancement Programme" was rolled out by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Goh said, in 1995:
Enhancement of Singaporeans' assets would take place via upgrading programmes which would increase the value of HDB flats, and resale flat prices thus rose steadily.
This policy continued into the 2000s and 2010s, and even ageing, short-lease HDB flats were being sold at high prices.
This prompted a warning from then-Minister for National Development, Lawrence Wong in March 2017, who said that HDB flat prices would inevitably start to fall at some point, as their leases run down.
But the consistent promises of asset enhancement from the 1990s, and even up till the 2010s (before Wong's warning) signalled to the public that the government's intentions were for HDB flats' value to continue increasing.
In response, homeowners would probably have believed that the sooner one purchased a flat, the better, since its value would likely go up with time. This has turned out to still be true in most cases, as the vast majority of HDB flats have yet to see their resale value decrease due to age.
The policy of asset enhancement thus made it that much more attractive to purchase a flat as soon as possible.
Arguably, this policy could also work against home ownership as it made properties more and more expensive over the years, disadvantaging future generations of would-be homeowners.
Thus, the government also introduced policies to keep homes affordable, favouring younger people who were starting new families in particular.
Subsidy town
HDB home ownership is supported by grants and subsidies for new owners, with higher grant amounts for those who earned less.
Even those who purchase resale flats on the open market may be eligible for grants.
Further encouraging home ownership from a young age, Build-to-Order (BTO) flats are priced according to market value, with a subsidy applied.
This makes them cheaper than any other comparable option in the market.
The subsidy has been so significant that getting a BTO in a prime location has been compared to winning the lottery, and described as a "windfall" — terminology that has even been adopted by the government.
Compulsory land acquisition and restrictions on rental market
One could say that the success of government policies generally depends on their adoption by the population.
However, in the case of home ownership policies, the government also introduced policies that restricted the development of a market for those who might have wanted to rent their homes permanently, by controlling most of the housing market.
A key policy which anchored the government's control over most of the housing market was compulsory land acquisition since 1967.
By 1985, the government owned 76.2 per cent of Singapore's land, up from 31 per cent in 1949.
By virtue of the fact that the government owned most of the land in Singapore, and retained close control over how even private land could be used, it was able to make public housing the norm.
The government has also restricted the supply of homes available for rent, by imposing controls on how and when HDB units can be rented out.
For example, there is a Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) during which even flats purchased on the open market cannot be rented out. Even after the MOP, only Singapore Citizens are allowed to rent out their HDB flats, among other criteria.
In order for there to be privately-owned homes offered for rent, there have to first be homeowners with spare residences.
But it is difficult to own multiple properties in Singapore. For one, HDB owners are not allowed to own multiple flats, and must dispose of their flat within six months of purchasing another one.
Even wealthy private homeowners might thinking twice about buying more property to earn rental income.
This is because increased stamp duties since 2018 mean that Singaporeans have to fork out a hefty 12 per cent of the purchase price of a second residential property, and 15 per cent for the third one. The rates are even higher for PRs and foreigners.
As a result, the supply of homes available for rent has remained very limited, compared to the supply of homes available for sale.
Home ownership a no-brainer
Looking back at Singapore's history thus far, it is rather clear that there was no room for rental homes to ever become the dominant mode of housing — mostly due to government policy.
The combined effect of the policies described above was such that home ownership is almost a no-brainer — provided that you fell into the majority group that was able to afford it.
Even for those outside of the majority, the government's intent is clear: To support, incentivise, and even cajole them toward eventual home ownership, so that they can one day join the 88 per cent majority.
Here are some of the measures toward that end:
- A Home ownership Support Team (HST) in HDB which advises rental tenants on their options for purchasing a home, and helps to "guide them through their journey to home ownership".
- Providing grants of S$35,000, and priority allocation, to purchase flats on short leases (from 45 to 65-year leases) under the Fresh Start Housing Scheme.
- Not raising rental rates for those who have made a downpayment for their own flat, while they save up for their new homes.
High home ownership rates, the stability they bring, and even the way they work together with government policy in other areas (like retirement adequacy), look set to be here to stay.
Top image via unsplash
If you don't own the land, you own nothing. Period.
You have no sovereign choice about what you do or not do on that piece of land. Try planting some small plants on a field near your HDB block.
Depending on the town council, sometimes you aren't even allowed to do certain things on the corridor directly outside your unit, or on the stairwell between two floors.
Sinkies are used to being subservient, obedient slaves, have zero inkling of what being free really means. Naturally, their concept of 'ownership' has been twisted.
You have no sovereign choice about what you do or not do on that piece of land. Try planting some small plants on a field near your HDB block.
Depending on the town council, sometimes you aren't even allowed to do certain things on the corridor directly outside your unit, or on the stairwell between two floors.
Sinkies are used to being subservient, obedient slaves, have zero inkling of what being free really means. Naturally, their concept of 'ownership' has been twisted.
Bollocks. Hdb flat is not yours although u pay so much for it. U need permissions to do this and that.
Lease. Is lease is always lease...
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