“If an individual’s choice of home in terms of size and location does not match their financial capability, it does not automatically mean that public housing is not affordable.”- NMP Abdul Samad Abdul Wahab
Learn to spend within your means. Surely you have all heard this before, right?
This is the gist of the speech by Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Mr Abdul Samad Abdul Wahab, during the 7 Feb Parliament sitting (7 Feb).
In his speech, Mr Abdul Samad shared his experience of buying a house after getting married in 1999. He and his wife were looking at Toa Payoh to be near his in-laws, but so mahal (expensive) because … Toa Payoh lor! Not only is it central, but even back then already many amenities liao. For sure high demand!
Then, they considered buying a new flat, but the waiting time, sibeh long.
“We discussed and identified possible areas with 5-room flats within our financial means. This meant looking for a 5-room flat outside of Toa Payoh. We finally set our roots in Yishun, just a 15-minute walk to Northpoint. In short, we got our 5-room flat within our means, accessible to many amenities within the estate and, best of all, many primary and secondary neighbourhood schools, all within 10 mins walking distance. We are also thankful for the grant extended to us, which was, at that time, about $35,000”, said Mr Abdul Samad.
Mr Abdul Samad said they’d moved several times to meet his family’s needs since then. Through the sale and purchase of these homes, they’ve had to incur some losses. At the same time, there were also some profits that they’ve made which will be used for retirement. Huat ah!
Mr Abdul Samad, NTUC Vice-President and General Secretary of the Union of Power and Gas Employees, shared from his engagements with fellow unionists, members, and workers the two concerns were the waiting time and price of new flats. However, they agreed that the new BTO flats remain affordable so long as buyers choose locations and types of flats they can afford, with or without utilising the available grants.
In fact, today, 90% of Singaporeans are homeowners. Around 85% of our low-income households own their homes.
Kawan (friend)…. Do these percentages look like public housing here is unaffordable?!?
Gahmen has always been helping Singaporeans when it comes to public housing. From making sure there are enough flats for everyone, giving grants to eligible first-time buyers and those with lower incomes, and ensuring that BTOs prices are set on affordability outcomes rather than just passing on rising costs to buyers.
In his speech yesterday (6 Feb), Minister for National Development, Mr Desmond Lee got say:
- The Home Price to Income ratio (or HPI) broadly measures the number of years of total household income it takes to pay for a home. In Singapore, our HPI ratios are 4 to 5 times… compared to other major cities like Hong Kong, which is more than 20 times!
- Close to 70% of the BTO flats launched in 2022 across all estates can be affordably purchased with a household income of $8,400 at a Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) of 25% or less, meaning that these households use a quarter or less of their household income to pay for the mortgage instalment.
- Just so you know, more than 8 in 10 buyers who collected their keys to BTO flats or bought resale flats in 2022 can service their monthly mortgage fully from their CPF contributions with little to no cash outlay!
NMP Mr Raj Joshua Thomas also said in his speech today:
“…affordable public housing should not be seen as cheap public housing and that accessible public housing does not mean that everyone will be able to get a flat in their choice location devoid of other considerations like the effect of location on cost and the earning power of the buyer. As a small country with land scarcity, high level of development and general affluence of our population, we cannot expect that property prices would be anything else than fairly pricey, and this will be so whether it is public housing or private housing. Affordability and accessibility should be created by government policies like grants, the provision of HDB loans, where possible, waivers of certain requirements and flexibility in imposing eligibility criteria for example. Accessibility is also created by varying, amongst other things, loan tenure and limiting certain types of flat for only certain categories of buyers, like flats for the elderly.”
Since the 1960’s the Gahmen has been committed to home ownership for our people. And while the system is far from perfect, I am sure Gahmen will continue to make public housing accessible and affordable for Singaporeans.
So, we must all do our part lah…practice prudence, and spend within your means!
