The following is Part One of a special three-part focus on the Housing and Development Board’s public housing policies. Parts Two and Three will be published on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Leong Sze Hian
I attended the HDB’s Resale Seminar which was attended by over one hundred persons.
Judging from the 75 minutes Q & A, during the 3 hour 45 minute seminar, and mingling with the crowd during the break, I estimate that about 80 per cent of the attendees were permanent residents (PRs).
Many questions centred on when PRs could sell or rent out their flats, and when they can repatriate profits from the sale of their HDB flats, when they leave Singapore.
To what extent has HDB policies led to undesirable outcomes for Singaporeans, relative to PRs?
Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)
A PR can sell his or her resale HDB flat after just 1 year’s MOP.
A Singaporean who buys a resale flat with a bank loan, can also sell after just 1 year.
However, many Singaporeans buy new flats, or resale flats with a CPF Housing Grant, which have a MOP of 5 years.
For resale flats with a HDB loan, the MOP is 2.5 years.
The increasing “headache” for some Singaporeans may be that they cannot afford the Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) on a resale flat.
Since foreigners do not need to contribute to CPF, they generally may have more cash to pay for the COV, when they become PRs.
As to new flats, since a typical Build-To-Order (BTO) is about 3 years, plus another 5 years MOP, it may be about 8 years before a Singaporean can sell his or her flat.
What if you can’t service your mortgage before your MOP?
What if you need to be divorced without children before your MOP?
Let me use an analogy. You want to invest in a property and also need a house to stay.A property developer offers you a private property at a discount of 20 per cent, using its unique “market subsidy pricing” policy, but it will take 3 years to build, and you cannot sell it for the next 5 years.
Another developer offers you a similar property that you can stay in immediately (and save on your rental for 3 years), and allows you to sell anytime.
Which property would you buy?
I think the developer with the “subsidy” may hardly get any customers at all.
But, many Singaporeans are fixated with the notion that a new flat is sold with a “discount”.
Imagine you had applied for a new BTO flat in 1990 and saw your flat appreciate greatly in value until the last peak in 1996, and then declined in price by as much as 40% for the next 13 years.
Your headache may be that you couldn’t sell when the price was high, because of the MOP.
Will PRs ever have this “headache”? No, because they can’t buy new flats. A blessing in disguise perhaps – no need to wait, can buy immediately and sell after just 1 year.
Resale Levy
When a Singaporean buys a second new flat, the resale levy has to be paid, based on the first flat type sold earlier.
For those who may be financially stretched, who can’t afford to pay the Resale Levy, they will have to purchase a resale flat instead.
Do PRs have this “headache”? No.$
In fact, when they become citizens, they can buy their second flat, which is considered as their first subsidised flat, with a 1st-timer grant as well.
HDB Concessionary Loan
When a Singaporean buys a second flat, he can only get a second HDB loan if the flat purchased is a bigger one.
This may entice him to buy a bigger flat than he can afford.
PRs don’t have this “headache”.
When they become citizens, they can buy their second flat of any size and get a HDB loan.
Since bank loans are typically lower than the HDB loan’s 2.6 per cent interest for the first 3 years of the housing loan, a PR who becomes a citizen within say 3 years, may actually pay a lower interest than HDB’s in the first 3 years, and then convert to a HDB loan when they become citizens, say before the 4th year.
Income Ceiling
Singaporeans are subject to the $2,000 and $3,000 Income Ceiling for the purchase of new 2-room and 3-room flats. This may in a sense “force” Singaporeans to buy a bigger flat than they can afford.
For example, if your household income is $3,001, you must buy a 4-room or bigger flat, as you have exceeded the 3-room Income Ceiling.
Why is it that the Income Ceiling is $8,000, instead of $3,000, for 3-room flats in mature estates like the recent Queenstown (Dawson) where the prices of flats are very high?
Since the lower the household income, the higher is the Additional CPF Housing grant, Singaporeans may be tempted to buy a flat before they can really afford it.
For example, a household with monthly income not exceeding $1,500 gets the highest grant. But, how many households earning less than $1,500 can really afford to buy, and run the risk of default over the next 30 years?
So, to buy earlier so as not to cross the Income Ceiling and get a higher grant may be a “headache”, if you can’t pay in the future.
Buy later when you can afford, but risk crossing the Income Ceiling, and be “forced” to buy a bigger flat, also a “headache”.
PRs don’t have this “headache”. They just buy any size resale flat that they can afford. Even if a PR earns $1 million, he can buy a 2-room resale flat as there is no Income Ceiling for resale.
CPF Housing Grants
Some Singaporeans also perceive that it is better to get a CPF Housing Grant. But you may have noticed in recent years that every time the grant is increased, the prices of new flats increase by even more.
So, is an increase in a grant that is less than the increase in the price, really a benefit?
Renting Out Rooms
PRs may generally have smaller families as they may not have their parents in Singapore, or not have children yet.
So, some may rent out rooms immediately after they buy a flat. [PRs can rent out rooms immediately but not for the entire flat.]
Some foreigners may also be accustomed to sharing a flat before they become PRs.
So, they may be able to pay higher prices for resale HDB flats, because they plan to rent out the rooms for income.
Singaporeans, on the other hand, generally buy flats to stay without the intention to rent out rooms immediately, as they may generally have larger families of parents and children.
I think most Singaporeans see a HDB flat as their home for life, and not as a temporary investment, providing income as well as saving on housing costs whilst in Singapore.
How can our housing policy allow PRs who own private property to buy a HDB resale flat and rent out the rooms immediately, as long as they stay in their HDB flat as well?
Are these some of the possible contributing factors to why HDB resale prices are skyrocketing?
In this connection, HDB resale prices rose about 8 per cent last year, compared to only about 2 per cent for private property.
Why is it that two PR siblings of any age can buy a resale flat, whereas two Singaporean siblings must be either orphans or age 35 and above before they can do so?
Review HDB Policies
HDB policies could be reviewed, with a focus on the undesirable outcomes for Singaporeans, and at the same time vis-a-vis PRs.
Policies should not be maintained for reasons of solving a problem – like PRs need housing too, IR foreign workers need housing too, etc.
Policies should also not be maintained for reasons of avoiding a problem – such as if new flats are priced lower on a cost-plus basis, the property market will crash and HDB resale prices will not grow.
This reasoning is in my view fundamentally flawed, as even if new flats’ prices are gradually reduced on a cost-plus basis, it will be about 8 years (3 years BTO plus 5 years MOP) before they can be sold in the open market.
So, it may not cause resale prices to drop.
Instead, it may help to moderate the current skyrocketing prices which may be an increasingly unsustainable asset bubble.
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51) lobo76
“Loan is for the most part, a non-issue”
Really? How so? Most banks want 20% downpayment. So we’re talking about 50k – 100k for average HDB. I agree COV is probably higher than reported, but how can you say 50k – 100k is nothing, but a 30k-60k COV (for example) is really tough?
Probably this can be voted as the worst article of TOC.
On the other hand didnt know that TOC can be so imaginative and creative. So many assumptions and MIGHTS, MAY’s and the entire point is the PAP is doing a BIG favor by letting PR buying HDB from resale with bank loan. So the solution should be * Let PR buy direct from HDB and HDB loan.
Wait… but this would reduce chances to Singaporeans. Oh never mind, give them 2 tickets in ballot.
Muahhwahwahhhhaaa
HDB should disassociate itself with PAP and put Singaporeans first. PAP is no longer the government Singaporeans want, and all statutory boards should start carrying out their responsibilities and be a true civil servants with genuine social responsibilities (not subjected to PAP manipulation) for the benefits of all Singaporeans and our future generations.
The PAP gov. said that we ask for because we do not produce enough babies to support the growth of the population. HaHaHa. Never mind, show them the power of our vote in this coming election.
ha Ha stupid Singaporeans.
Now then you know that your Government prefer foreigners than Singaporeans.
What was that saying going around….’Jobs and Scholarships for Foreigners and NS for Singaporeans”
To add salt to injury your own Government insults like :-
-foreigners are needed becos Singaporeans are lazy
-you can’t afford HDB flats becos u are choosy
- we need foreigners becos Singaporeans don;t have the skill sets
- when you are old we will ship you to JB
etc etc
Now u say change government, vote them out etc etc
I have watch for so long and still you morons vote in the same government. time after time.
Lets be franck and cut the wishful thiniking.. u Singaporeans haven’t got the guts to vote out this government.
U are scared that your vote is monitored
U do not want to miss out from the upgrading
U want to get the election goodies (eventhough your bloddy GST is going up 10%)
Stop bitching and just accept the fact that it is your destiny to screwed and insulted by your Government for the rest of your life.
51) lobo76
Agree with your point….where is the advantage?
48)Matt
” I think you’re also forgetting the advantage citizens have that they can use part of their CPF for the loan downpayment. PRs don’t have CPF savings, so have to pay cash for the loan downpayment.”
Matt… What is the advantage of CPF other then it is partially contributed by your employer and you won’t have the heart pain compared to parting with savings/cash? That “advantage” comes with a bitter price too. I don’t think that’s an advantage at all.
I think you are forgeting the fact that the PRs have cash, ready cash…liquidity to pay for their home, and that’s an advantage. and when the rental start rolling in…i don’t need to go further since lobo has mention it.
anyway, what causes all this? I guess it is greed…an embodiment of one group of people that we know and mention about today…
Overall, citizens do not enjoy any advantages over PRs. For example, PRs can buy a car in Malaysia and drive over to Singapore, Singaporeans cannot. Yet citizens are laden with NS obligations.
This is the shit you get with Mah Bow Tan
HDB policies have been confusing & frustrating since day one – maybe that’s their real intent. The day you make sense of them will be the day you die.
The Singapore Government (after this coming election, hope is not PAP) should make sure that if a PR sells his/her HDB flat at a profit, 50% should be taxed and go towards subsidising Singaporeans.
HDB should revert back to its original mission that is to provide affordable housing for Singaporeans and made it a better place to live in. It should not be helping Singaporeans or PR to profit from buying and selling HDB flats. That defeat its original holy purpose.
Don’t worry,one morning when PM LEE wakes up and decides that FTs are useless(maybe a few years’ yime),then you see all the highly paid ministers talking differently.
Be patient,it will happen when these opportunists start taking profits and scoop the money and go home…they not stupid ,leh,they got talents,not like us,sure stay
here.
Vote for the opposition! Out with PAP!
59) Terence Goh on January 11th, 2010 7.42 pm
Thanks for sharing your info. I never knew PRs could buy a car IN Malaysia and drive here but not for citizens.
Anyways, car price here is crazy as shown by this comparison :
Car Example for comparison: Porsche 911 Carrera 4 3.6 manual
Car price in UK : S$148,252 on the road (£66,011) <— very cheap!
Car price in sg : S$405,888
—————————————
Difference : S$257,636.00
—————————————
Not say I say wan . These websites said so wan (u wan also dun have ah): http://www.carpages.co.uk/guide/porsche/porsche-911-carrera-4-3.6.asp
http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/newcars_overview.php?CarCode=10240
The price difference suggests, can buy 2 (in uk) for the price of 1 (in sg) and NOT JUST THAT! you still will get back a change of S$109,384.00 to buy another super car in UK. So is 2+1 in uk for the price of 1 in sg.
why do people spend this kind of money? I no no leh.
u know ah?
Looking at #18 elmo’s statement, i feel sad and angry at the same time.
elmo: ” it is good that they have such lousy policies to frustrate Singaporeans so singaporeans will give up being singaporeans. leaving this country is the right option. ”
Thank Mr Leong for analysing the HDB “headache” for Singaporeans and posting it here for discussion.
Pls allow me to digress from the HDB headache to another similar headache facing Singaporeans.
Today i met a Singaporean, he works for a local retail chain. He is thankful that he can still keep his job for the moment, although he faces constant fear of being “let go” by his boss and there are dozens of “FT”s waiting to replace him. His company is now filled with foreign workers – cheap. They had no year end bonus but the boss acquired another ferrari to add to his collection of ferraris and bentley. He understood tht some local companies are facing difficulties and agree tht workers forgo their bonus and increments…
i am angry that when the company is making money, the boss continues retrenching locals to hire cheap FT/Ws and don’t pay bonus and goes out and buy himself expensive toys… then put up a show to support the singapore government (aka PAP), and the latter relent/relax on corporate governance. The people is being screwed left and right!
The day before, while at work, i met an old Army (NS) mate. To keep a long story short, he is working as a garung guni assistant being contracted by my company. A jovial chap,my man, although he’s 2 yrs my senior in age. A poly diploma grad in engineering. After serving his nation in the Army he worked in some MNCs utilizing his skill as a trained technologist. i guess the company pulled out from singapore. After all these years of working hard at his job, he possesed the only skilled he had – electrical engineering. And pass 40+ y/o…
A person who can do calculus, trogonometry, Laplace transform, fourier analysis, newtonian mechanics, mechanical engineering science, circuit analysis, etc, the country has no job for him and he has to reduce to being a rag and bone assistant. Maybe our education system far surpasses our manpower ministry in nation building.
i am sorry to TOC for taking up this valuable space to digress from the main topic.
The statements in this article are too generalised, and made up of many assumptions and analogies that support the title of this entry. Think you’ll need to take a step back and study it without getting too personal about it.
#66,
“i am angry that when the company is making money, the boss continues retrenching locals to hire cheap FT/Ws and don’t pay bonus and goes out and buy himself expensive toys…”
But based on Meritocracy right?
If i run a business, I would not hire as many citizens as i can.
If you go to car workshops, they usually employ many from Malaysia or China.
I used to work in IT as consultant. I worked with a group Indian IT consultants and a few Philipinos. We did a project as a team. I have more experience than the 99% in the team who are younger and foreigners or foreigner-originate PRs. In the project, which wet ‘live’ successfully, my portion of work was delivered with the least problems due to my attention to details. My piece passed the User acceptance test with the least problems. After the project, i could not find another project. The numbr of projects are not too many and all the vacancies i knew were taken up by my ex-colleagues who left or moved on to these projects.
Basically my job market here has no room for me. There is little hiring as vacancies were filled by my ex-colleagues. I attended the same interview but the younger less experienced got it.
This is my story.
It’s racism not talent. For every 10 aliens allowed into Singapore, eight are from a particular ethnicity, because Lee Kuan Yew wants to maintain “racial balance”.
But there is really nothing we can do about it.
Opposition have 2 seats.
what influence do they have?
the 2 seat situation is wat the majority wanted, in a way.
Actually yes, like my friends, we know how to think,
if there is an opportunity for us to make money from
our HDB house, we will.
We can also rent out our house or room to singaporean,
to earn some money.
We are Foreign Talents,we are smarter.
Keep Complaining! Have you thought of migrating? Go Taiwan then. At least you get to see politicians splashing water at each other… Once a while politicians get shot and survived…
Thanks Online citizen for posting another good articles. Good job! Keep it up!
Guys we can complain and complain. Things won’t change unless we Vote PAP Out! If u all want to see more opposition contesting, pls join THE OPPOSITION Parties as volunteers or candidates, the opposition needs U ALL.
And rmb when comes to voting, Vote the Oppositons in! Singapore for Singaporeans! Merdeka!
U can also join the SDA facebook supporter club The link http://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore-Democratic-Alliance-SDA-Supporter/202603113516?ref=ts”
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=153492722129&ref=ts
I agree with the proposed solution:
In order to equalize the field between citizens and PRs we must let the PR have the choice to buy new HDBs with HDB loans
The main gist of the article can probably be made clearer with some editing.
But those claiming that citizens still have more advantages over PRs in buying HDB are missing the point. The issue is really not that current policies favour ALL PRs, but they allow the upper tier of PRs to abuse the huge loopholes in the system. So while not all PRs are at an advantage, enough have entered the property market to cause prices to skyrocket, placing homes beyond the reach of many Singaporeans.
The income ceiling is a big problem for many young couples looking for their new home. If nothing is done about prices, very soon those who are still under the ceiling will find themselves unable to afford to buy the flats they are eligible for.
What takes the cake for me is that PR siblings are allowed to buy resale flats regardless of their age, when citizens have to wait till they are 35. Can someone tell me if a single PR is also allowed to buy resale regardless of his/her age?
65) Mah L J on January 11th, 2010 8.47 pm
I see a few regular JB registered cars in my estate and I remember their licence plates. They are staying in Singapore obviously but driving JB cars. Definitely non-Singaporeans because our government makes it illegal for Singaporeans to drive JB cars in Singapore. These JB cars use our carparks but don’t pay for parking. Summon them also no use as it is hard to get them to pay up also as these cars are registered to foreign address.
the whole thing is created to suck money into the system.
Why do they need to suck so much monies, I leave it to your imagination!?
I don’t think anyone is rational to think that the govt doesn’t take advantage of these huge price increases.
In fact, keeping the prices constant is more painful for them.
All the pigs do is to exploit Singaporeans because they cannot make monies overseas.
Grant increasing slower than the price increase?
That is a deliberate policy.
IF you measure the speed of approval of grants over a huge sample of application, you will realise how slowly they give out the grants.
If you measure how fast bidding occurs, you will not be surprised.
“Go Taiwan then. At least you get to see politicians splashing water at each other… Once a while politicians get shot and survived… ”
gee, i think i wld love to see that in singapore!
“Go Taiwan then. At least you get to see politicians splashing water at each other… Once a while politicians get shot and survived… ”
gee, i think i wld love to see that in singapore! at last the “yes-men” will provide some comic relief for plebians.
aiyoyo,
just 4walls + 1 rooftop
still make red dot citizen so tough + high $
how to survive?
and also today news say
“No double dip recession for Singapore, but sluggish economy expected”
cant tahun liao…….
aiyoyo
I’ll reference what policy makers said that Singaporeans’ interests will be looked after first. The HDB is a tad to late, and should have done a comparison (just like what the writer did), to reinforce the point that Singaporeans and PRs are still differentiated. Unfortunately, it seemed that HDB’s policies aren’t going in that direction. Either way, HDB shouls come clean to explain this.
Singapore has been captured by PRs! Singaporeans are now slaves in our homeland! Vote for the opposition! Cut defence spending and cut GST and restrict PRs and foreigners in Singapore!
#70 Mui Chee,
“But there is really nothing we can do about it.
Opposition have 2 seats.
what influence do they have?
the 2 seat situation is wat the majority wanted, in a way.”
No problem, we can always find nice looking candidates to join opposition. Venetta Lopez mentioned on Class 95 this morning she saw an attractive person in parliament (government). She and the Holland-originate citizen cum businessman is now asking listeners to sms who is the handsome person in parliament they are talking about.
they describe this government person as
“kind eyes, strapping shoulders, very tall, ….demeanor about him…..”
I wonder whats up?
she said Michael Palmer is ‘cute’.
They are praisng many goverment officials.
FD said : ‘who does Vern find very hot?”
Vernetta praised Mr Ng Eng Hen that he is very Hot!
By the by , this Vernetta is also an entreprenuer and president of one singapore.
“the way to success is to know how”
Mr Leong’s articles are giving us more and more value.
Such insight! Impressive!
I never knew all these things until i read TOC’s artice by Mr Leong.
But sadly, i think there is nothing we can do about the situation. Cos if there is, citizens would have done it long ago. Technically even if there is something we can do about it but choose not to do something, we can also say there is nothing we can do. We cannot do what we wont do.
Feel free to disagree with me.
sincerely
Tripod
53) Matt on January 11th, 2010 5.18 pm
“Loan is for the most part, a non-issue”
Really? How so?
I would have assumed that people have the money in the first place before considering buying a flat. We are trying to make reasonable comparisons, right? Why would anyone assume a PR and a citizen with vastly different ‘wealth’. The thing is, money and cash is 2 different things. That is the point the article is trying to bring up. The one with more cash (aka the PR) is the one that benefits.
PR stands for Parasite Residents.
They ride on citizens in all facets of life taking away our jobs,our flats,places at top schools,jam public transport,litter our streets and public places,bully our elderly,molest our womenfolks,look down on taxi -drivers the way they do in their homeland,rush to join grassroot organisations to cream benefits and instigate our governemnt to speak ill of us!
The last straw would be betraying our governemnt by scooping up the money on the table and hurry off like that DR silviu.
Aiyoh! I opine that all of us miss the point and has created the wrong impression that born and bred Citizens are xenophobia whom rejects the influx of fts, prs and new-citizens to this tiny-black-mark, so to speak!
Mind you, all of us have fallen into the trap that has been carefully and assiduously craft cum carved out by the despicable million-dollar miw to provoke war among the innocent and gullible chess-pieces master-minded by the chess master-DOM.
Yes! Singapore is an immigrant country with our forefathers from elsewhere of the world coming to settle in this tiny-black-mark named as Singapore. I beg to differ from the despicable miw’s proclamation in explaining the profuse influx of foreigners under the guise of creating more jobs for born and bred Singaporeans but, in actual fact, the real intention is to artificially prop up the gdp growth to justify the increase of their already exorbitant annual remuneration pay packages.
Indeed, what true-blue-Singaporeans are being pissed off are the relentless influx of foreigners to this island taking along their uncivilized and uncultured habits and behaviors but to the least extent contribute only marginally to the real growth and prosperity of the country but at the same time milking off the already limited (close to non) natural resources. Buying and selling of new hdb flats under the pretext of one partner taking up citizenship; buying and selling of resale hdb flats with both partners remain as prs and retain foreign citizenships; applying and enrolling to local elite school without their off-springs serving the Nation-Service after completing their heavily subsidize nationalized education; enrolled into heavily subsidize nationalized institutions as a stepping stone to further their future endeavors to occidental countries for better career opportunities and living standard. The list can go on and on………
So, cease being a puppet of the ruling party and halt believing that the despicable miw’s policies are for the benefits of the born and bred citizens; vote for the opposition, vote for the changes! Wake up!
it’s a very well written piece.
i can imagine the PAP being voted in the next election due to their blunder in managing residential housing in Singapore. all my friends in their 20s and 30s are all anti-PAP because of the high cost of settling down and priority to foreigners for work/housing.
imagine without an affordable roofs over your head, that’s the basic requirement for livelihood anywhere. for Singaporeans, the future has grown even more uncertain, getting retrenched in the late-30s, 40s or 50s without a social safety net and having an expensive mortgage to pay. the government also do not reveal important statistical figures on the actual unemployment rate of local Singaporeans (maybe 7-8%)
let’s hope change will come in the next election.
I am a single who have just bought a 3 rm resale flat. However, I do not wish to see hdb flats keep rising at current rate. If given a chance to vote, I will vote for a opposition. I hope more singaporeans can be less selfish and less self-centred.
Please keep in mind the Singapore Gov’t is not the Singapore Gov’t.
It IS the PAP Gov’t…and always remember somewhere along the way it change from the Singapore Gov’t [Representing the peoples of singapore] into the PAP Gov’t [Not representing the people of singapore but actually serving themselves at the peoples cost and suffering, a few rotten apples is more then enough to spoli all the other un-spolit apples in the same basket].
Folks, the peoples of singapore really need to think critically and constructively [those who can't take it anymore and nowhere to go and intend to throw yourselves off building or onto MRT tracks, please de-sist and think/re-think no matter a way forward for yourselves and your loved ones...remember those blook sucking parasites who put you in such an impossible situation....don't kill yourself or go to the levels of these parasites...actuate a plan...either change the system by voting [even though the election office is fully in the control of the PAP] correctly by fighting the good fight and if it fails then do please find a way out of singapore.,..open your old/new networks with like minded friends, find your way out, if successful…never begrudge some useful help to those who are also trying to leave but thru no fault of their own are trapped in the arschloche PAP created facist system or resources taxed beyond them to actuate a escape plan].
We already in the process when the PAP gov’t is “forcing” singaporeans be it in creed or color [who cares when cut we all still bleed red] thru their inane policies to indirectly/directly force us to leave.
As in Aesops tale….the owner prefer the newer prettier shining flock of wild goats then the current flock of not so shining tired goats. When it is all over, the wild goats will leave after taking a chunk out of the PAP…and the PAP will curse the day.
For us, never mind the damn PAP…henceforth, whatever you do here onwards is for yourselves, your loved ones and your true fellow singaporeans.
Perhaps in another country that can/will accept me, i will be loyal to my new home, fellow citizens and new country….i will remember singapore and i will still love singapore…but never the PAP gov’t….the day a singapore gov’t takes over and do care for its citizens is the day i will be happy for singapore.
But in a new home and new country…I will fight and die for this country that take cares of its citizens rather then a country with a self serving gov’t that doesn’t.
Do you all realize how much interest do guys have to pay if the HDB price increased to above 700k?
let say, in 10-20 years, 5rm flat will be 500k to 1mil dollar.
If u r a young couple, u brought a 1mil HDB flat and pay off 100k, u still owe the bank 1.5mil becos of the interest owe for 30 years. The instant, I repeat, the instant u takes the loan of 900k, it becomes a 1.5mil loan payable over 30 years, excluding all the ulitity bills that will continue to increase in future.
Imagine 3rm flats at 300k…u be screw and trapped in a proverty cycle. Is that the way, u guys want ur children to be so screwed?
Even if u sell off ur flat for 1.2mil, u still need to pay the bank 1.5mil and u end up losing 300k LOL
Think carefully before u pray for ur HDB to appreciate in value becos ur children suffers. But if u r rich, pls continue to feel joyful at our super effecient tax collector gov.
I agree with the first few comments.
The conditions imposed is based on whether you take subsidies or not.
Obviously, a non-citizen cannot take subsidies, so they will not have to follow the conditions. Even if they want to be imposed the conditions (in exchange for subsidies), they cannot do so.
Citizens on the other hand, can choose to take subsidies (with conditions) or not take subsidies (like the PRs).
This article mixes up the two and in my opinion, tries to pander to xenophobic tendencies by bringing in a nationality dimension.
This is obviously not Mr Leong’s finest work.
Instead, the question should be focused on whether Singaporeans-only subsidies should have conditions attached. Conditions such as resale levy and MOP have been put in so that citizen (yes, our own citizens) will not flip properties to monetize the subsidies given.
If i may give an example, i had a neighbour who move from the tenth floor to the fifth floor ten years ago. When asked why did he even move since it’s same location, same size etc., he said he needed money for his business and by flipping his HDB flat, he can use the concession loans which is subsidized by taxpayers.
Obviously, this abuse has lessen now with the conditions. I guess my point is conditions in general, serve a purpose to check abuse by some bad apples in our society. (and yes, these people who game the system and speculate include our citizens too.)
next election is my last hope for singapore, after that must find place to migrate….
If you guys keep bashing the PRs and making it difficult for them to own a home here, Singapore will soon end up without PRs contributing to its economy! When that happened, Singapore will become a dead town!
[i]without PRs contributing to its economy! When that happened, Singapore will become a dead town![/i]
and the hdb heartlands must be boomin
right? if that is so how come many smaller hdb shop/kiosk is closed with shutter collectin dust…with so many flyers as well
off course without a doubt you would had says the pr are not stupid they also do their shoppin in jb and bataams as well bypassin chennai and shenzhen…
[i]Once a while politicians get shot and survived… [/i]
good what..than again singapore leadin politicians are afraid of death..
last hear rumoured that even when they go to the jumbuan..they must have an armed bodyguard to tag along…
I should also highlight that the housing policy in sinkapore is unique in the world. 80% of it is controlled centrally by the govt, who even allocates housing based on race. That is very communist, even more than china or cuba. This unnatural control paves the way for abuse, as we are all experiencing now. If you leave more space for private developers and control the quota for foreigners and PRs who can buy any housing, everything can be solved.
all PR who buy house in singapore must convert to singapore if not pay a levy of $100000. That will test their loyalty. we don’t wants to stay with people who will escape during war time.
The problem is, since 1996, when the property market crashed, HDB had decided to make HDB never fall and always rise becos, they…the smart ones tot that with rise and fall, it be fun and will encourage speculations so that they can earn more money, since fall or rise, they will gain money.
But..the problem is, they made so many people bankrupted and there is the 1997 crisis, it contributed to one of the worse policies ever.
You must know that HDB controlled the price, it will never drop cos they decided it.
So they decided to control the prices by having a policy of rise only. But in 2006, when the HDB increased too fast, and the country poor and medium class is still trying to recover from the 1997, 2001 (911), 2004 (Sars), alot of people couldnt afford Houses and they have many unsold HDB.
This pissed them off, so they come out with BTO scheme so that HDB houses would be further filled in while at the same time, they can increase the prices.
That is why PR regarded HDB as a safe investment. It have better annual appreciation rate than even the property properties for the last 2 years in fact.
A PR with the cash, can pay 400k for a house (Condo) and then resell it instantly 3 months later or 1 year later (HDB), to reap profits. In the meantime, they can also rent their HDB away…it may be illegial but anyway, most r doing it and the gov wont want to catch these cash cows.
And the problem is , if a citizen took a loan of 400k, the bank immediately make a loan of 600k to the citizen for 30 years. So even if a citizen sells his flat for 500k 5 years later, he have to pay the bank 600k first and he end up losing 100k with a 30 months ban and he cant own another HDB flat. By then, HDB price will further increase.
The real question is not PR but why is the gov encouraging speculators and make HDB such a insane appreciation.
A queentown 5 rm flat is priced at 600k, and taking a 600k loan means u have to borrow 1mil from the bank becos the bank will calc 30 years later with immediately effect before they divide it by 360 months, to tell u how much u need to pay.
Citizens r suckers.