Daily Lessons from Life 18 June 2011 - $880,000 flats are not HDB flats: Minister Khaw

"Sat, Jun 18, 2011 AsiaOne - $880,000 flats are not HDB flats: Minister Khaw

Singapore's housing minister has come out to clarify that the $880,000 five-room flats launched in Tampines belong to a different class of housing options.

In his latest blog entry, he noted that the "negative reaction from the ground was not surprising", but he said that DBSS is a class of housing type between HDB flats and Executive Condos (EC) and private condominiums.

Explaining the difference, he added that DBSS flats are designed and priced by private developers. If the developer prices it too high, and there are no takers, then there will be no sales.

He also responded to calls for the Ministry of National Development, which oversees HDB, to control the price of the flats by telling the developer to cut it. But, he said, "price control was not a term of the tender".

Mr Khaw said that buyers can always choose not to buy, if they find the flats have been priced too high.

But in a bid to offer more affordable housing options for Singaporeans, he also assured them through his blog that he will be ramping up more BTO launches and pricing them appropriately.

25,000 units will be launched this year, with 12,000 already in the market.

Larger launches may also be in the works, as these offer buyers a wider range of choices, according the the minister."

The lessons for me are:

1. public housing is NOT private housing. Now that the Minister has said that DBSS is NOT HDB flats, then what is it? If it is a private housing, then why is HDB involved?;

2. it is clear that the ex-Minister has created a monster with his boss or the cabinet approval. In the haste of trying to meet 'demands' for affordable public housing, DBSS was conceived. Now, it looks like it is NOT HDB and hence NOT public housing but private housing. If so, is HBD gaining from such a deal?;

3. let me repeat my 'broken recorder': public housing is NOT private housing. Public housing is just to provide a basic 'roofs over one's head'. Simple and no frill. Functional and fit for average Singaoreans to live in. It is NOT the route to a higher price private housing. The so-called appreciation of public housing price is not sustainable IF the new public housing aspirants CANNOT afford to buy their 1st property as the public housing resale prices are spiralling as it is deemed good that owners of public housing have their 'assets' (leasehold nonetheless) go up and up!! The fight between the 'have public housing' and 'not yet have' will always be there. Do what is sustainable. Admit that public housing is NOT the same as private housing. The rules got to be different.

May Minister Khaw sorts the basic out!