MBT has been lately trying to attack the WP platform on the lowering of prices for HDB flats by pegging them to the median income. His arguments are illogical, rambling and for a Minister of his supposed calibre unclear and unprecise.
Firstly, lets just say here I am not a WP member or supporter, I am just someone trying to grasp what this Minister is trying to say. He claims that if new flat prices were pegged to the median income, resultant lowering of prices for the new flats will lead to a significant negative impact on the prices of resale flats. How is this possible? The market for new flats is different from that of resale flats. Most resale flat buyers cannot qualify for a new flat. New flats as a percentage of total flats sold in Singapore is not more than 20%. In some recent years, only a few thousand new flats were build. In addition, most new flats are build to BTO and that means the HDB is not flooding the market with cheap flats for first time buyers, regardless of whether there is a market or not for them. Resale flat prices have been strong, because of the large influx of FTs into Singapore, and the proposed increase in these numbers of FTs. These FTs are buying up resale market flats, and most would not have qualified for a new flat anyway. How than would MBT like to explain, can resale flat prices fall? If resale flats prices fall significantly as the Minister says, is that a bad thing for heartlanders priced out of this market? I think not.
MBT says that the WP policy will cause the flat prices to crash immediately. As the Minister with all the information available to him, would he care to elaborate with figures, statistics, and facts how this crash would be caused by this proposal. Its very easy to make sweeping alramist statements like "cause prices to crash deliberately" without backing them up. Its one thing for the oppo not to have all the facts at their fingers because of years of secrecy surrounding what the HDB pays for land and construction costs, but its quite another whent he minsiter in charge cannot have these numbers available.
Secondly, MBT uses the issue of the lowering of reserves that this supposedly crash in prices will cost. I am sorry, but I don't see the connection here. Is he saying that the WP will have to dip into the national reserves to fund these cheaper new flats? Obviously, any negative impact on resale flats will not be compensated in any shape or form because its market driven. But already, the HDB is losing large sums of money every year according to their financial report. Does that mean that MBT has been dipping into the reserves all this time? If the PAP can dip into the reserves to fund these HDB loses, why can't another party? If MBT thinks that the reserves can be so easily accessed and depleted, than why do we pay an Indian chap $3.5 million a year to be the guardian of these reserves? Even more basic, how much is there in the reserves? MBT should let everyone know how much there is in the reserves, so we can all make a decision on how much, if any, should be used to subsidized cheaper flats for young singaporeans.
All the nation waits with bated breath to see what things can or cannot be used to deplete the reserves. What MBT has now stated for a fact is that the reserves could be used to subsidize lower costs flats. What are we waiting for? I can't think of a better reason or a more deserving recipient than a youing man and his wife, who has given two years of his life to the nation in NS, and are starting a new life together. We give all manners of benefits, monetary included, to newcomers and FTs in integration programs, language programs, skill upgrade programs, etc. Why can't we give our own people a break? Only a mean spirited person like the minister would associate this good deed with robbing the reserves. He is so pathetic.
Firstly, lets just say here I am not a WP member or supporter, I am just someone trying to grasp what this Minister is trying to say. He claims that if new flat prices were pegged to the median income, resultant lowering of prices for the new flats will lead to a significant negative impact on the prices of resale flats. How is this possible? The market for new flats is different from that of resale flats. Most resale flat buyers cannot qualify for a new flat. New flats as a percentage of total flats sold in Singapore is not more than 20%. In some recent years, only a few thousand new flats were build. In addition, most new flats are build to BTO and that means the HDB is not flooding the market with cheap flats for first time buyers, regardless of whether there is a market or not for them. Resale flat prices have been strong, because of the large influx of FTs into Singapore, and the proposed increase in these numbers of FTs. These FTs are buying up resale market flats, and most would not have qualified for a new flat anyway. How than would MBT like to explain, can resale flat prices fall? If resale flats prices fall significantly as the Minister says, is that a bad thing for heartlanders priced out of this market? I think not.
MBT says that the WP policy will cause the flat prices to crash immediately. As the Minister with all the information available to him, would he care to elaborate with figures, statistics, and facts how this crash would be caused by this proposal. Its very easy to make sweeping alramist statements like "cause prices to crash deliberately" without backing them up. Its one thing for the oppo not to have all the facts at their fingers because of years of secrecy surrounding what the HDB pays for land and construction costs, but its quite another whent he minsiter in charge cannot have these numbers available.
Secondly, MBT uses the issue of the lowering of reserves that this supposedly crash in prices will cost. I am sorry, but I don't see the connection here. Is he saying that the WP will have to dip into the national reserves to fund these cheaper new flats? Obviously, any negative impact on resale flats will not be compensated in any shape or form because its market driven. But already, the HDB is losing large sums of money every year according to their financial report. Does that mean that MBT has been dipping into the reserves all this time? If the PAP can dip into the reserves to fund these HDB loses, why can't another party? If MBT thinks that the reserves can be so easily accessed and depleted, than why do we pay an Indian chap $3.5 million a year to be the guardian of these reserves? Even more basic, how much is there in the reserves? MBT should let everyone know how much there is in the reserves, so we can all make a decision on how much, if any, should be used to subsidized cheaper flats for young singaporeans.
All the nation waits with bated breath to see what things can or cannot be used to deplete the reserves. What MBT has now stated for a fact is that the reserves could be used to subsidize lower costs flats. What are we waiting for? I can't think of a better reason or a more deserving recipient than a youing man and his wife, who has given two years of his life to the nation in NS, and are starting a new life together. We give all manners of benefits, monetary included, to newcomers and FTs in integration programs, language programs, skill upgrade programs, etc. Why can't we give our own people a break? Only a mean spirited person like the minister would associate this good deed with robbing the reserves. He is so pathetic.
