Housing concerns of singles being looked into: Khaw

By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia, 8 Sep 2012

Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan on Saturday assured singles that he is looking into their housing concerns.

Mr Khaw, however, adds that he needs some time as his current focus is on the immediate needs of the second-time flat applicants, until they are largely addressed next year.

The minister also wants to have a better handle over the likely additional demand on new HDB flats when the scheme is opened to singles.

Mr Khaw says the additional demand is unlikely to be small.

He cautioned that if the demand is misjudged, the interests of married couples, especially those with children, may be adversely affected.

In his latest posting on the ministry's "Housing Matters" blog, Mr Khaw has thrown up some possible ideas.

He says one practical approach, given the difficulty of assessing demand, is to adopt an incremental approach to implementation.

A scheme could be started with some initial restrictions, such as flat type, and this could better ensure the scheme meets the needs of singles, while still protecting the interests of the married couples.

Another logical way, says Mr Khaw, is to launch a larger number of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats next year.

But the question remains as what the magical number is and so this requires some study and market research.

Mr Khaw says since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech which touched on the concerns of singles, many more comments and suggestions have surfaced.

And some, the minister says, are quite sound.

These include allowing singles to buy BTO flats but not at the severe expense of married couples and some restrictions on the type of flats that singles are allowed to buy.

There are also proposals that singles should not be allowed to rent out the flats and that if two singles with two BTO flats subsequently get married, one of the flats should be sold.

Some have also called for a difference between the subsidy received by a single and a married couple.

Mr Khaw says property analysts have also added to the debate, commenting on the impact of such a policy on the resale market, and in particular on the "shoe-box" market.

The minister said: "I am glad that many Singaporeans have given thoughts to this topic. That is the value of such national conversation, creating a forum for interested Singaporeans to share their views and suggestions on a common topic.

"The government cannot obviously accept all suggestions, but the informal nature of the consultation allows all views and ideas to be aired and duly considered."

Mr Khaw has called on Singaporeans to continue sending their suggestions.

Khaw eases fears over $1m flat price
By Rachel Chang, The Straits Times, 9 Sep 2012

News of a Housing Board flat being sold for a record $1 million may be swirling, but National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan urged Singaporeans not to be "traumatised".

There will always be "units with fantastic views that fetch fantastic prices", he said of the sale of the executive maisonette in Queenstown, which is still in the works. The price includes a cash over valuation (COV) of $195,000.

"More important is the larger picture," Mr Khaw said at a dialogue with Sembawang grassroots leaders.

"Are prices affordable generally for most units? I think we have largely achieved that in the last few months with the pricing of the new Build-to-Order flats."

At the same time, he noted that the record resale price was indicative of the fact that "in public housing, we can get very good living conditions".

For example, when the Pinnacle@Duxton flats come onto the resale market in a few years, "there will be many millionaires there", he noted.

It illustrated a dilemma facing policymakers, he added.

To avoid having such high resale prices, the Government could just choose not to build HDB flats in the city.

"But that's wrong," Mr Khaw said. "Are you saying that town is only for the rich? Do HDB-holders not have a right to be in town too?"

But he dismissed the need for additional measures to cool the housing market, despite public and private prices picking up pace again after a lull in the first half of the year.

Data from the Singapore Real Estate Exchange last Friday showed that private resale prices rose 4.5 per cent last month over July, while overall median HDB flat prices rose 1.8 per cent over the two months.

"These month-to-month fluctuations, I won't waste time worrying about it," Mr Khaw told reporters later. "It's the overall picture (that matters), and the overall picture is that the situation now is totally different from a year ago."