"Former homeowners renting HDB flats a 'worrisome trend': Maliki Osman - CNA 11 March 2015
SINGAPORE: More families entering the public rental system used to be homeowners, and this is a "worrisome trend", said Minister of State for National Development Maliki Osman in Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 11).
Five years ago, these families used to comprise only 52 per cent of public rental applicants, but the proportion is 59 per cent today, Dr Maliki said at the 2015 Committee of Supply debates. Some of them have enjoyed housing subsidies and cashed out more than once, thus rendering them no longer qualified for subsidised HDB flats, he added.
"In a rising property market, or when one is financially strapped, the temptation to sell is a very real one. But my advice – resist the temptation and don’t cash out. Keep your home; protect your nest egg. Life may be harder in the short-run, but it will work out," Dr Maliki said.
The purpose of offering highly-subsidised public rental flats is to help families that are unable to buy a home immediately, he said. "We will target assistance where it is needed and create the right enabling conditions for as many Singaporeans as possible, including those in the lower income group living in rental flats, to be homeowners, with a stake in this country and its future."
He acknowledged that such an effort is "not easy" for these families and he empathises with their plight, but the ministry, together with community partners, "stand ready to help them get back on their feet again".
To this end, the Government has increased its stock of rental flats from 42,000 in 2007 to 51,000 at present, a figure that will reach 60,000 by 2017, he said. The waiting time to be allocated a public rental flat has been slashed from 21 months in 2008 to 5.5 months now.
The cheapest rental rate still stands at S$26 a month - a price set 35 years ago in 1979, said Dr Maliki."
Lessons for me are:
1. some people DO take advantage of the 'public flat subsidies' given to the 1st and 2nd time buyers. Since the SYSTEM is created that way, by very smart and intelligent administrators and government officials, one cannot fault the 'smarter' sellers exploring this loophole.
The question than become: WHY provide these subsidies when without the subsidies, the 1st and 2nd time buyers WOULD NOT be able to buy the public flats and THUS not able to so-called 'take advantage of the subsidies'?
Also, are these 'subsidies' some form of 'artificially inflating' public flat prices?;
Notes: maybe the government and HDB can provide some data and analysed information on how many are 'suspects' that take advantage of the subsidies?
2. for those WHO REALLY had to sell their subsidised public flats, how many and what are the major reasons e.g. death of the sole bread earner? major hospitalisation without any medical insurance? etc.
For these REALLY sad stories, WHAT could have been done by the medical social worker or other public agencies to help without the owners or surviving co-owners having to sell their 'roof over their heads'?
When we have the data from item 1 and 2 above, we can perhaps make some specific suggestions to change the bad and sad situation;
3. the final point I want to make is the worrying emphasis by government officials that: house/flat ownership is one of the 4 pillars of retirement planning. For this to be sustainable, EACH SUCCESSIVE generation of Singaporean house/flat owners will have to see CONTINUING higher and higher house/flat prices. Otherwise, there will be SOME owners or mortgagees who will face the situation of the market price of their house/flat is LOWER than the purchase price + mortgage interest in the so-called 'bust' year of the 'boom and bust property cycle'!
Personally, public flat owners SHOULD always look at their flats as 'a roof over their heads that they own or owe until the mortgage is paid fully!' It is NOT to make a profit. With housing taken care of, the next biggest expense will be medical care. If this is taken care of by MedishieldLife, then as one ages, 'less is more', and the elderly don't really need a lot of money to lead a peace retirement life.
So, cultivating a healthy lifestyle and a mind-set of 'less is more' SHOULD be one of the pillars of retirement planning and NOT 'house/flat ownership'. Yes?
SINGAPORE: More families entering the public rental system used to be homeowners, and this is a "worrisome trend", said Minister of State for National Development Maliki Osman in Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 11).
Five years ago, these families used to comprise only 52 per cent of public rental applicants, but the proportion is 59 per cent today, Dr Maliki said at the 2015 Committee of Supply debates. Some of them have enjoyed housing subsidies and cashed out more than once, thus rendering them no longer qualified for subsidised HDB flats, he added.
"In a rising property market, or when one is financially strapped, the temptation to sell is a very real one. But my advice – resist the temptation and don’t cash out. Keep your home; protect your nest egg. Life may be harder in the short-run, but it will work out," Dr Maliki said.
The purpose of offering highly-subsidised public rental flats is to help families that are unable to buy a home immediately, he said. "We will target assistance where it is needed and create the right enabling conditions for as many Singaporeans as possible, including those in the lower income group living in rental flats, to be homeowners, with a stake in this country and its future."
He acknowledged that such an effort is "not easy" for these families and he empathises with their plight, but the ministry, together with community partners, "stand ready to help them get back on their feet again".
To this end, the Government has increased its stock of rental flats from 42,000 in 2007 to 51,000 at present, a figure that will reach 60,000 by 2017, he said. The waiting time to be allocated a public rental flat has been slashed from 21 months in 2008 to 5.5 months now.
The cheapest rental rate still stands at S$26 a month - a price set 35 years ago in 1979, said Dr Maliki."
Lessons for me are:
1. some people DO take advantage of the 'public flat subsidies' given to the 1st and 2nd time buyers. Since the SYSTEM is created that way, by very smart and intelligent administrators and government officials, one cannot fault the 'smarter' sellers exploring this loophole.
The question than become: WHY provide these subsidies when without the subsidies, the 1st and 2nd time buyers WOULD NOT be able to buy the public flats and THUS not able to so-called 'take advantage of the subsidies'?
Also, are these 'subsidies' some form of 'artificially inflating' public flat prices?;
Notes: maybe the government and HDB can provide some data and analysed information on how many are 'suspects' that take advantage of the subsidies?
2. for those WHO REALLY had to sell their subsidised public flats, how many and what are the major reasons e.g. death of the sole bread earner? major hospitalisation without any medical insurance? etc.
For these REALLY sad stories, WHAT could have been done by the medical social worker or other public agencies to help without the owners or surviving co-owners having to sell their 'roof over their heads'?
When we have the data from item 1 and 2 above, we can perhaps make some specific suggestions to change the bad and sad situation;
3. the final point I want to make is the worrying emphasis by government officials that: house/flat ownership is one of the 4 pillars of retirement planning. For this to be sustainable, EACH SUCCESSIVE generation of Singaporean house/flat owners will have to see CONTINUING higher and higher house/flat prices. Otherwise, there will be SOME owners or mortgagees who will face the situation of the market price of their house/flat is LOWER than the purchase price + mortgage interest in the so-called 'bust' year of the 'boom and bust property cycle'!
Personally, public flat owners SHOULD always look at their flats as 'a roof over their heads that they own or owe until the mortgage is paid fully!' It is NOT to make a profit. With housing taken care of, the next biggest expense will be medical care. If this is taken care of by MedishieldLife, then as one ages, 'less is more', and the elderly don't really need a lot of money to lead a peace retirement life.
So, cultivating a healthy lifestyle and a mind-set of 'less is more' SHOULD be one of the pillars of retirement planning and NOT 'house/flat ownership'. Yes?
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