PM Lee: Govt does not have control over prices of resale flats
January 27th, 2010 | 
Author: Written by Our Correspondent
Despite being the highest paid government in the world, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong admitted that his government “does not have control ovver the prices of resale flats.”
During a speech made at a gala dinner to celebrate HDB’s 50th anniversary, PM Lee reiterated that his government is “committed” to keeping HDB flats “affordable” without elaborating more on how he is going to achieve his goal.
“These resale prices are set by individual households who transact flats on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, and are affected by movements and sentiments in the wider economy, including the private property market. Hence, resale prices of HDB flats will fluctuate from year to year,” he explained.
PM Lee cannot be more wrong. The sky-rocketing HDB flat prices boils down only to two reasons: limited supply of new flats in the face of a rising population.
According to figures from HDB Infoweb, the prices of resale flats increase by a record high of 8.2 per cent in 2009, a recession year. Median Cash-Over-Valuation (COVs) doubled from $12,000 in the third quarter to $24,000 in the last quarter.
As public housing is a necessity in Singapore of which HDB is the sole supplier, Singaporeans have no choice but to pay exorbitant prices for a roof over their heads.
The lack of new flats force many Singaporeans to dip into the resale market which is already flooded by PRs thereby exacerbating the situation.
Propnex CEO Mohamad Ismail told Straits Times in an interview a few weeks ago that PRs make up 20 per cent of the buyers in the resale markets. Other real estate agencies such as ERA and C&H quoted higher figures of 40 and 50 per cent respectively.
The quandrary faced by Singaporeans is largely the fault of PM Lee’s government. It has tried to increase the population too fast without building adequate flats to house them.
Recent launches of BTO flats are more than 5 to 10 times subscribed even in less popular areas like Choa Chua Kang, an indication of how serious the housing shortage has become.
Only slightly more than 11,000 new flats were built between the years 2006 – 2008 when there were over 90,000 PRs and 20,000 new citizens alone in 2008:
[Source: HDB Financial Report 2008/2009]
Below is a graph illustrating how the rise in the prices of resale flats coincides with the rise in the number of foreigners in Singapore between the years 2000 and 2008, courtesy of Kojakbt, the moderator of 3in1kopitiam:
Due to the ruling party’s liberal immigration policy, foreigners now made up 36 per cent of Singapore’s population, up from 14 per cent in 1990.
The prices of HDB flats are kept artificially high by building less flats than needed to meet the demand and increasing the population via immigration.
PM Lee appears to be optimistic that the flats are able to maintain their current value for the foreseeable future:
“Over the long term, the value of HDB flats depends on the strength of the Singapore economy. Provided Singapore continues to do well, our flats will maintain their value, and Singaporeans can enjoy an appreciating asset,” he said.
He missed out on the crucial fact that Singapore’s economy is heavily dependent on the global economy and any shock to the global financial system as in 2008 will have disastrous consequences on our own.
In the event the world were to enter an economic depression, foreigners will leave Singapore in droves and our property prices will crash overnight, plunging many Singaporeans into debts.
Despite evidence suggesting otherwise, PM Lee, like other ministers before him, have continued to insist that HDB flats remain “affordable” to ordinary Singaporeans. Are they really so blind to the reality on the ground?
Since they don’t even dare to admit their mistakes in the first place, how can Singaporeans harbor any hopes on them to rectify the problem?
Singaporeans must vote wisely in the next election or they may have to wait till their parents pass on before they inherit a roof over their heads.
Related articles:
>> COVs of resale flats shooting through the roof
>> HDB resale price index hit record high in 2009
>> Singaporean wants PRs to live in rented flats instead of buying resale flats
>> Singaporeans wants PRs to be banned from selling HDB flats at a profit
>> Shanmugam: Singaporeans likely culprits for driving up HDB flat prices
>> Mah Bow Tan: HDB flats remain affordable
>> Means testing for PRs to buy resale flats
>> Immigration and public housing: should the govt or people plan ahead?
>> Grace Fu: hard to predict demand for housing
>> Indonesian PR bought 4-room flat at $653,000
>> Mah Bow Tan asks home buyers to be realistic
>> PAP MP blames young couples who cannot get a flat for not planning ahead
>> Home affordability: HDB versus the public
>> Demand vs supply: so many applicants, so few flats
>> Number of applicants exceed number of flats
>> HDB to increase supply of flats
>> Mah: don’t compare with prices in the past
>> ERA: 40 per cent of HDB flat buyers are PRs
Posted in Editorial
CNA “But Mr Lee said the government has less control over prices in the resale market.”
ST “WHILE the Government will keep the prices of new Housing Board flats in check, it has less control over prices in the resale market”.
“However, the Government does not have control over the prices of resale flats, he said”
PM lee seems confused – have or don’t have control at all or less control only? The fact is HDB has all the control but for reasons best known to itself – to cover its oversight for not buidling enought flats or to boost the sale prices (market price minus subsidy) of new BTO flats?
as it is obvious the higher the market price the more HDB reaps. Such despicable tactic and still MSM dares say HDB still central to Spore story?
Please dissolve this useless barracuda entity and its million dollar paid minister.
Mr Lee, your govt. can control anything, land prices, prices of new BTOs, even valuations of resale flats….and now you are saying you have no control over prices of resale flats ? Don’t you know that it’s a result of undersupply of new flats? If you sincerely and seriously wanted to stop the resale flat prices & COV from moving upwards, immediately release more flats to flood the market~! Release cheaper lands to private developers! HDB is too slow and inefficient in rolling out new supply!
Yes.
Our government has control over virtually everything EXCEPT prices of resale flats.
Prices of resale flats is determined SOLELY by market forces of demand and supply and NOTHING ELSE.
So if HDB flats are not so affordable now, it is all our fault.
Please believe it.
Lee Hsien Loong, stop giving excuses and managing the People’s expectation. Start solving the problems which are going on for far too long. The government controls many things in Singapore. You know it and the People know it.
Nobody is asking the government to control INDIVIDUAL transactions. There are many policy measures which can be put in place to stem the relentless upward spiral in PUBLIC HOUSING prices. Why are they not put in place? Where is the consistency with HDB’s mission? What is the relevance of HDB in full view of the stark and continued refusal to do the right things?
Nobody is asking for HDB to be perfect in the supply-demand equilibrium. However, when the HDB fails by a long shot, e.g. the over-supply of flats in Sengkang in the past and the under-supply in recent years, it leads to severe impact on the People.
These failures demonstrate the utter incompetence at the HDB and the MND and must be corrected IMMEDIATELY.
You can control the intake of PRs. You can fire Mr Mah Bow Tan who cannot understand the most elementary of Supply/Demand economics. You can build more flats.
Please justify your salaries!
His fault, her fault, your fault, their fault, everyone fault, economy fault, society fault.. Never my fault.
C’mon people, surely you all don’t think this situation developed out of a simple “mistake” of letting in too many foreigners and not providing enough housing to meet the demands?
The more i think about it, the more i’m convinced that this whole situation was engineered by the government! If there’s one thing they are damn good at its raising prices!! I’m sure the PM and the omni-impotent MM were aware of the lack of housing despite their intention to bring in droves of foreigners…I don’t believe they were unaware, to say that this came as a surprise to them would be to admit their right hand doesnt really know what their left is doing!
However, when Mabok Tan said he was “caught off-guard”, i believe him!! It comes as no surprise that he would be clueless..he is definitely not of the right calibre to come up with such a devious plan of artificially driving up housing prices. Just look at his face and you know he is stupid!
To say that the gov’t has no control over rising resale prices seems reasonable, however they do have control over the prices of new flats!! So why arent they controlling that? Why peg it to resale prices? Or at the least have the goddamn decency to amend the charter to more accurately reflect your new attitudes. Clearly you are no longer providing affordable housing to Singaporeans, so at least have the balls to be transparent about that.
Well all the years of treating Singaporeans like they are deaf dumb and blind is all turning full circle now…coming to bite you in the ass!! And oh what a lovely feeling it will be! I for one am just waiting for that old teabag to croak and i hope its a long and painful death!
A Lion made a mistake, the sheep Pay.
Not only pay for the high price of Housing,
also to Pay for the Lion’s salary.
In the end, its we Singaporean Pay, not matter its whose mistake.
Lion’s mistake, Singaporean pay, foreigners once made enough, we will retire comfortablely back in their country.
while Singaporean have to continue paying off their $500k heavily subsidised 99yrs leased Flat house.
That is a speech that is full of paradox.
I nearly choked on my coffee when I heard it over the TV.
How can one try to make something affordable, yet not be able to control the prices at the same time?
When the demand is created by his party, and the supply controlled by the same party, you are telling the world that you cannot control it?
Then how are you going to make it affordable?!?
Sheez~! Which university did he graduate his economics from?
“does not have control ovver the prices of resale flats”
But HDB prices is peg to resale flats!!! How can a Prime Millionaire continue to lie lie lie.
The vicious cycle of new-flat price chasing resale-price, which drives up new-resale price is obvious even to people with normal intelligence.
LeeHsienLoong and his ilk – the worse hypocrites ever.
i think hdb governement should really try to control the price of flats.
i think hdb or government should be able to do it to control the price.
if not they may lose a grc next election.
i read from today newspaper that a lot of opposition parties may be going to contest in tampines grc as minister mr mah who deal with hdb matters is there.
hope mr mah can really help singaporean do something. if not his next election will be an extremely tough fight.
i beg you mr mah to help all singaporean.
Why no control over the resale flats? If they have opened the floodgate for the PRs & new citizens, surely they would have anticipated that more flats to be built. If not, why pay MBT millions for what purpose. To be caught off-guard?
The other issue is why let PRs purchase the resale flats and let them profit it when they leave the country. Surely this government has not given all these policies a serious thought, for the benefits of we Singaporean. This government should be voted out since they do not deserved the million dollars salaries they are getting.
“In the event the world were to enter an economic depression, foreigners will leave Singapore in droves and our property prices will crash overnight, plunging many Singaporeans into debts.” then property prices will be affordable… do you want property prices to go up or down?
i think hdb should do away with bto exercise.
just go back to last time when there are no bto.
just build flats first in advance create the supply first.
if supply is there and supply is more than demand i think price will drop.
in business world this may not be the right way, but hdb is not never a business.
hdb is to help all singaporean.
hdb is not a listed company like capitaland.
hdb i beg u please do away with bto and most likely this will solve the price problem.
please minister mah please listen to the people.
The Public Housing is built by the Government and as a Prime Minister, he claim that he cannot control the prices then, in this case he is not fit to be the PM. All the valuation is done by HDB appointed Valuer and it is this bunch of Idiots that anyhow jack up the valuation price and so the Seller also jack up thier COV. Between 2006 and 2008, the HDB only built less than 12000 flats versus the 500,000 PRS which they import overnight. Lets say only 50,000 PR buy HDB Flat, do you think it is enough Mr Lee? Please have a Heart and ask Mah Bow Tan to build 20,000 flats at a time instead of a few BTO flats which take 4 to 5 yrs to complete. Knowing well during any BTO project that is announce, it is always more than 10 time the subscribe and yet he refuse to acknowledge the demands and still continue with this stupid BTO Exercise. Please do away with the BTO as Singaporean desperately need a Roof to stay.
Look who is bullshitting again. Seem like our PM Lee don’t know that only COV Government cannot control it, but how about the RESALE EVALUATION PRICE? Who give the standard and control the Evaluation Price. PAP keep on talking on COV, but how about the increase in the Evalaution Price? PM Lee please do your study before bullshitting us. We Singaporeans are not stupid citizens. Government wanted to do some to help the poor, there are a lot of methods, you PAP know and we know that too. But you “Elite PAP” just try to avoid it by give lame excuses. WAKE UP SINGAPOREANS LET VOTE PAP OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
for the ceo of a private listed property firm if he create too much supply when there is low demand and cause price to drop, he may be sack or get very little salary.
but for hdb if price can be control and if everyone is happy with hdb, even if the minister salary might not be millions anymore, he will win the heart of singaporeans.
When things are doing well and going their way, they claim it is due to their great leadership and foresight and they have everything under their control. When things are bad and everyone pointing accusatory fingers at them, they blame it on unforseen external forces, the people for being lazy, choosy, spurs not in the hide, etc. and thus not under their control. I can make a very accurate forecast here. A more accurate forecast than our MM (Minister Mental)the coming GE LHL need to wear diapers during the counting of the votes as his bowel is also not under his control!
Excuse me; my question is about whether the pm office cum the mnd and mha know what they are doing in the first place?
No proper co-ordination between various government agencies, mbt buries his head in the desert of Australia (1st class honors in industrial engineering from the idiotic university of nsw), wks sticking his ass in the five-great lakes of Canada (at the moment a maze for the readers! which university is he from? May be the TR has the interest to find out)! Finally, lhl shoving his legs in the English’s channel of England (1st class honors in mathematic from the idiotic University of Cambridge)!
With advance technologies nowadays, even they are all millions of miles apart but in actual fact they are not, they can still communicate through tele-conferencing facilities or simply just a phone call away if they do not know how to use computer, which I doubt so, as each of them has so many pappies or simply puppets to assist and advise them!
By the way, as a standard rule of thumb, I opine that they should have regular working lunch and/or dinner gatherings at the expense of state coffer to exchange views and report work progress! In stead of discussing works since they are no communications between pm office, mnd and mha, I doubt what are they discussing about! If it is not works then what else, women and/or families and/or simply prostitutes? It really puzzles me! Who can enlighten me?
A bunch of idiotic million-dollar nerds and nothing else!
In my view, I also think that the rise in FTs, specifically the PRs, is the #1 biggest factor that influences the rise in HDB resale prices currently. Price is always dependent on supply and demand. How can PAP say they have less control over it? If you reduce the # of PRs, it will definitely help to moderate the COV and HDB resale prices.
PAP is wrong to think that Singaporeans will always go for new flats and do not care for HDB resale flats. A portion of Singaporeans will still want to buy HDB resales because: they need to get married quickly, they cannot wait for new flats, they want to stay next to parents, they are over the $8K limit (btw, $8K ceiling is not very high in terms of our cost of living these days)… etc.
Here is another graph showing HDB Resale Price Index vs PR Population. The correlation is even better at 0.88 with 1.0 being a perfect correlation.
http://i38.tinypic.com/2edr0ie.jpg
It’s amazing that we pay these PAP ministers in the millions and yet, they can’t seem to think….
What a load of crock. Resale flats are evaluated by HDB officials. We even have to pay for the evaluation. As such, how can they say no control over resale?
We understand the mechanics of demand and supply and how the free market works. We want policies to be implemented that ensure that prices don’t go out of hand (Ie cash above valuation by S$1million). There will be increase but there should be some limits to ensure affordability.
TR – good job to highlight this. We do need an alternative paper like yours. I don’t necessarily agree with everything posted or written here. But it has opened my eyes to many things never mentioned in the regular media. Welldone.
a friend recently because jobless and became a housing agent.
he told me his insight after working there for a few months.
he have a group of PR indonesian families who collective want to sell condos priced ranging from 1 million to 3 million.
They together own a few.
He suspect that they collectively invested in the condos and as PRs or foreigners they are allowed to do so by policy.
They may be selling and then buying and then selling as and when its possible.
Will this cause market price to go up? i wonder.
Linked under, ‘Housing’. Thanks TR.
Just a few years back, demand for HDB flats is low, even those in established estates. I have a friend living in the estate opposite Boon Lay MRT and Jurong point, a lot of units from 2 to 3rd floor are empty because no one is buying (this is a couple of years ago). HDB even stopped building new flats because of the low demand. Prices of flats whether new or resale during that period were still reasonable.
But ever since the free-wheeling influx of foreigners into Singapore, the public housing market has boomed drastically, causing disaster effects to the prices of HDB flats.
It’s really country mismanagement to the max.
Who is he kidding?
@smallfly on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 12:01 pm
They do probably talked among themselves on the next big idea to squeeze the life out of Singaporeans.
LHL – stop giving STUPID excuses, the real reason is you and your cronies are incompetent and utterly useless !!
Can’t control ??? Who believe you ??? You can even control the courts which is supposed to be independent, and you are saying you can’t control HDB re-sale prices ??????
Stop talking to us like we are 3 year olds, you are just making a fool of of yourselves with your illogical statements !!
No control over resale flats ??? Why ???
You mean there is no co-ordination between the PM’s office, the Ministry of National Development & the Ministry of Home Affair!! Are these million dollars peoples getting complacent???
Just like the Mas Selemat’s incident where they blamed it on complacency. How come the top men did not have their heads roll when it were under their watch!!
If the govt can control the prices of cars through the COE and ERP and making car driving licenses hard to get, why can’t the same government make HDB prices stable?
Its nonsense to say that rising HDB prices makes citizens wealthier unless they are multi-million salaried and can afford several other properties to stay in.
The flip side of super high pay is
1. committing fraud to keep getting the high pay.
Pretending that you cannot control resale price is lying.
For one if you impose a high downpayment price say at 30%, property prices will come down.
Part of the impetus of this wave of price increase is due to change in rule from 20% to 10% downpayment.
This is one instance how you could control prices.
The rest is describe in this article.
There is also one more, if govt change the rules of the games: no pr is allow to buy.
You will straight away see a plunge in price.
Over the long run, you may be price increase but it will not be of the kind we see lately.
Why should pr be allowed to buy?
Bermuda only allow pr to rent or those with work permit.
Lee hAVELied is lying.
He is trying to push away responsibility.
He said he will ensure most S’poreans can afford to buy HDB flats. (he didn’t what constitute most and how many in one 3 room flat).
Reading his last speech, if you take away the productivity part, it reads like the policies he imposed in the last decade. Basically he has NO ideas.
Really sad for us.
I agree with LHL that government should not control the price of HDB and should let the market forces decide. On the other hand, I also agree with majority that the rise of HDB prices could be better managed if MBT is not being caught off-guard.
Goodoo says, LHL should start getting his government to control less things and MBT should start justifying his salary.
We have to take note of one very important factor. Resale HDB flat prices cannot be forced too low all of a sudden otherwise we will see a lot of people jumping down their flats especially PRs who cough out a lot of money to buy these flats.
I suggest HDB consider doing away the with the resale levy and give Singapore citizens more priorities over PRs. This will bring HDB resale flat prices down gradually.
I think the speech by our PM is a joke – that he cannot control the price of resale HDB flats. Look – its so naive for him to make this statement and expect people to believe it.
To be frank – Mr Lee should have just said that the govt does not think that it should meddle with the price of HDB resale flat – Period.
LSS is a kiss ASss professional and a lazy one too.
the reasons:
1. after being slapped in the face by Goh cock talking and LHL on productivity, he came out to say that LHL’s target is challenging when Taiwan, HK, South Korea achieved that with no tripartite rule and a super well paid labour chief, is a sure sign that he is licking up LHL’s ass.
2. it also show he has no ideas and has not been thinking about the issue.
3. it also show that he has very low standard since he thought 1% over the last decade is very good and 2-3% is therefore challenging.
With this kind of caliber in parliament, no wonder S’pore productivity has fallen and Singaporeans have ended up living in sembawang park.
Another example how unsteady the pigs are.
This PM LEE is another joker who is talking nonense. The whole world is well awared that his party’s tentacles are in control of Virtually Everything in Singapore.
The government dictates all cost/prices – wages, food, land, housing, taxes, etc. whatever you can think of. And his trusted ministers had been repeating that “Affordable” magic word to ensure and hint singaporean that the ruling party is in watchful control and is actively manupulating cost and is making “necessary” adjustment accordingly.
PM LEE can easily say that govermnent has very little control over resales price – but the fact that those influxed new citizen and PRs/FTs, all imported by his ruling party had both direct and indirect impact on housing demand and the rising resale cost cannot be denied.
Yet once again, the ultimate winner turns out to be our HDB – gaining most through the hearty resales tax imposed and through the perpetually “affordable” new higher HDB pricing scheme.
HDB’s earning belongs to the government, and in return the government is shamelessly proclaiming and reminding us that we’re all heavily subsidised and should be thankful to the ruling party – cos we’ve owe them a living.
a piece of shit
So what CAN this sissy control? He already said he can’t control immigration, companies hiring foreigners, and now this.
Well who can blame him…. since Lee senior is still holding on to real power.
@Jeremon Au Sai Kian aka Ah Beng on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 12:33 pm
I do not see anything wrong with that. When you have money, gut and knowledge, you should play in the property market to earn more money. Your friend as a property agent as profit from it.
Goodoo says, people like me only earn enough to get a roof above head can only look with envy when thousands are made with each and every transactions.
He can’t control rising cost, population growth, weather, world economy, Influx of FTs, his own life span and of course many other things.
But He can control his Votes, He can control his Salary and he can also control Virtually Everyting that his ruling party’s tentacles could reach.
honestly we have a very good govt indeed. HOWEVER we shouldn’t have a govt that has absolute power. absolute power = corruption, historically proven thousands of years. history has repeated many times. we need opposition, i mean a strong one to gun down a grc and follow by other grcs later on, a party that has sufficient power to audit and check on the ruling party. there are so many unanswered questions, even our previous president ong’s inquisitions into the many accounts of the ruling parties, everything in vain. here are the questions;
1. how much money do grc and temasek have in their accounts?
2. how much ho ching and other directors at the above coprs get in terms of salaries, share options, benefits etc? fyi sovereign wealth funds operated by scandinavian countries are open to their public to access. so why can’t we? if they come clean, why not? something must be wrong here, very wrong…
3. how much is our reserves?
4. how much to build hdb flats? what’s the costs? its a public housing charter, so what’s there to hide?
so many unanswered questions… it can go on and on…
personally i feel that the ruling party is like the movie infernal affairs, starring tony leung and andy lau etc… they have went too deep into the 18 levels of hell and cannot get out. any opposition party that has enough seats in parliament starts inquiring, they are dead meat. of cos that has to be supported by someone like president ong tc then maybe there’s a chance. pap has learnt their lesson which is why now they install ppl like nathan who just kwai kwai collect million dollar paycheck and be their puppet. pap has been stung by ong tc before so they have evolve and learnt.
To dunbeanidiot on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 10:55 am
Yes I believe you. I believe you are an idiot. Pls dun be an idiot.
No? How about limiting supply and opening floodgates for foreigners? Is that not the direct cause for prices to shoot northwards?
Come on lah, u expect someone who lives in an exclusive property to comment and solve HDB related issues?Wake up!I bet he doesn’t even know the difference between a 3I and 4NG flat!
I work hard, little pay and no complaints.
You said I not make enough babies.
I spend time with family to make babies.
You said I must work cheaper, better and faster.
I work cheaper, better and faster.
You said my productivity drops.
I increase my productivity.
You provided free upgrades to FTs aka my competitors.
I complain that this is not fair.
You said I only know how to complain.
I shut up and don’t complain.
You increased the number of FTs again and again.
I complain again.
You said no FTs cannot, no cleaners, no road sweepers, no service staffs, no construction workers, GDP doesn’t grow, population decreases and etc.
I shut up again.
You let FTs take my job, make my HDB flats not affordable and create social disturbances.
Now, although I have to look for job, cannot afford my HDB flat, no time to make babies but still I don’t create social disturbances.
You offered me $360 per month and ask me whether my 3 meals come from hawker centres or restaurants.
What you want me to do?
comon, Look like Hong Kong govt are better than our Mil dollar paid PM and MPs.
How they control Govt subsidise housing is implementing a additional “Land Tax” for Foreigner and PR . the Land tax can cost around 40% of the govt housing, that turn away most Foreigner and PR .
This is a good way for them to control the 2nd or resale govt housing market best they are not even paid mils $$.
1 x PM + 1 x SM + 1 X MM = how many millions, have the cheek to say no control of prices?
I provide you solutions, free of charge to add value.
1.) build more flats
2.) PRs who sell off their HDB flat is subject to Capital Gain Tax
3.) PRs who dont reside in SG but rent out their HDB, have to sell off their HDB flat after 1 year
4.) HDB valuation cannot take into factor of the ridiculous COV paid by these PRs
@ kwailan on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 3:31 pm
I have been an idiot before, voting for them.
Rest assured that now I am a idiot no more!
I am still reeling from my karma from the past election…
Enough is Enough! Shit to the PAP fellas and their PRs!
many singaporeans are still suckers trust me… kau peh then voting comes still vote pap as usual la… true singaporeans have been voting pap that’s why kena karma now just like dunbeanidiot. better stop and repent now… heaven’s mandate is not on lky’s hands now, someone else will rise and audit on those bastards! send them to jail for corruption!
Guys…remember, it was Mah Bow Tan who made cars the most expensive commodity years ago. Now he is in charge of making houses the most expensive thing on this planet. Vote him out before he makes eating nasi lemak in a coffee shop costs us arm and leg!
Govt controls valuation of the HDB flats. why does he say they have no control.
@dunbeanidiot on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 4:41 pm
I read your post and tend to agree with what you have said.
@Jason Lim on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 5:02 pm
I agreed with your solutions to control the resale flats prices. Will the multi-million dollars ministers accept these?
TR, please email them these solutions if you can.
The price of houses in the resale market is driven by demands and supply. Fundamental Economics. Higher demand than supplier, it leads to the case of over-pricing and under-pricing for the opposite situation, demand > supply.
Who are those demanding for resales flat? People who are 35 but not married and want to buy flat on their own. People who had bought more than twice directly from the government already. Those who had downgraded from Private property also cannot buy directly from the government. Those couples with income higher than the income celing set by HDB. More details can be found here: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyingNewFlatEligibilitytobuynewHDBflat?OpenDocument
Having all these bars set, more people will end up needing to buy from resale market. On top of this, there is also situations whereby young couples wanting to buy their first flat. On one hand, they want a place of their own and on the other hand, they want to stay near their parents. So most of the mature estates would likely be providing only resettlement flats which these couples are not qualified to purchase. So in such situation, it is either they buy resale flats near their parents, buy new flats that is situated a distance away from their parents or their parents move to live near them. Such is social issues that will require immediate attention to be paid to as this is the start of the chain that will lead to bigger consequence.
Allow me to explain using the same example of the young couple who either pay more to stay near the parents or move into the new estates but not that cheap either. I dare to say that the infancy rate will be affected should such trend be allowed to drag on as in Asian culture, we will want our offsprings to be well taken of and especially by our own parents. If they are living apart from their parents, engaging maids or child care will be inevitable and this will result in increasing cost to the young couple who are probably still in the stage of building their career. So all these will inevitable lead to the decision made by individuals to delay child delivery or even not to give birth altogether.
We all understand the urgency of bringing up our infantcy rates and incentives had been implemented to help the situation. But such solution is not difficult to identify. Let us look at the Maslow’s Hierachcy of Needs and we can easily identify that until the basic needs are taken care of, then individuals will be interested to look into fulfilling other needs. Giving out money that is locked up with various criteria of use will only help to stretch every dollar but will not provide any prolong benefit. Looking into the root of the cause, one should identify the most insignificant thing that will make the most difference. Remember: 天下乃天下人之天下。
Cheers!
Govt does not have control over prices of resale flats…
GONG LAN WAY again.
PAP can control anything in S’pore is they really want to……including what food you eat!!!
> In USA, Americans say George Bush is the Lamest of All Lame-Duck Presidents.
In Singapore, guess WHO is the Lamest of All Lame-Duck Prime Ministers?
For being full of lame-duck excuses despite being The World’s Highest-Paid Politician?
> Political Sick Jokes in Singapore:
PAP = Pay And Pay (popular version)
PAP = Pathetic And Pathetic (rude version)
PAP = Pissed And Pissed (angry version)
PAP = Phui And Phui (disgusted version ie Cantonese for spitting twice in total disgust)
WTF. How the hell can he keep prices affordable but not control the prices?!
The basic understanding of economics theory will tell you that LHL is talking rubbish. The price level is determined by demand and supply for a good/service. By increasing the demand while reducing the supply for a good, the price level will definitely go up. The high demand for HDB resale flat is created by government by importing large number of immigrants and the shortage of supply is also created by the government by building not enough new flat. Do you expect Singaporean are so naive to believe your excuse, PM Lee ?
Keeping HDB price expensive is to ensure PAP rule for the next 50 years.
Don’t expect them to bring the price now as they have vested interests.
The only way is to vote them out!
dunbeanidiot on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 4:41 pm
Well said. Cheers!
Why not build more in places where demand/price is the highest.
BTO is a sorry excuse for choice.
Duxton is built to make the old man happy.
hahaha…. another joke. Singapore is fast becoming a world class humorous country. Cheers
Since when he said “mee siam mai hum”, I stop believing in him liao…he himself dunno what he’s talking about…what a laugh..
Paying himself millions of dollars a year as a Prime Minister of Singapore, he claim that he cannot control the prices of HDB flats. What a shame . He had dissapoint and let all Singaporean down. The worst is that Crown ( Mr Horse ) who have the cheek to earn millions of dollars . Its time to vote them out!
I must say with the hardships that we endured for the last 10 years, the facts of incompetence and self-enrichment of this regime that all thinking people can see, any self respecting human should do the right thing to take back the mandate from this regime. If this coming GE the Papists can still win with a landslide, I can safely conclude the majority of Singaporeans are invertebrates and it is a waste of time for TR and like-minded sites to convince them that we are nothing but slaves to this regime. If that happens, I feel those who can migrate should migrate and those who cannot should just accept the fate of a lifelong servitude and see our children reduced to 3rd class citizens serving the new citizens.
If government has no control over HDB flats,especially primary market,who has?…maybe the foreigners?
If so,the governemnt ought to be ashamed for losing control.
Alibis are mere excuses and excuses are seldom quite sincere?
The government can control the buyibg options and ownerships
obligations of PRs as they so shrewdly impose on citizens in so many ways.
All policies seem so clever and right until to be proven fatally wrong and substituted by even more erratic policies?
I,of elementary education and simple mind,fail to comprehned such complicated idiosyncracies.
In these highly intellectualised world, simple wisdom seems to be submerged by complicated foolishness?
If netizens can provide some simple solutions, why can’t our PM?What a useless piece of xxxx we have!my respect for him and his party is really gone. We are becoming the joke of the world. He definitely made his mark in world history, as the most well paid politician with very low performance.
Why does LHL & the PAP continue to insult our intelligence? The PAP needs a wake-up call. Let’s make it happen in the next election. The arrogance of the PAP has gone unchecked for decades …it is time the people put the PAP in place. The people are the boss, the politicians serve us not vice versa.
Totally fed up.
now the father speaks – same scare tactic. your hdb flat values will drop if you vote opposition. you should not cast protest vote. mah can laugh too. MM Lee using the word `daft’ is offending a lot of people.
Say what they want……we do what is needed to be done.
Because of the prominence of TR in raising this issue of rising cost of flats and the other associated FT issues, the PAP
govt is reacting to the concerns.
It is possible that without TR’s raising of this issue, the things will go on as usual without any changes. TR – keep up your good job.
They think we are situpi. Period.
HDB controls EM Services.
EM Services does valuation on resale flats.
This guy is lying when he says HDB has no control on resale flat prices.
I just saw this on CNBC “Obama’s Message to Angry Americans: I Hear You”
Our PM?? “LHL’s Message to Angry Singaporeans:
I will continue to let PRs in. They are hardworking, you are lazy!
They must be allowed to buy HDB flats and jack up prices!
They will continue to take your jobs. As long as my job is safe, who cares?
Sorry, I still need to draw a salary 7 times more than Obama. What kind of leader actually listens to the people HAHAHA!!!”
When a govt leader, the PM at that, have to lie to claim his innocence, we are in deep trouble.
We are in deep trouble because while the govt tax man justified his upping property tax to ‘reflect market prices’, the leader of the govt well known for it control-freak behaviour denies being able to influence or having anything to do with it.
The PM is as believable as someone holding a blood-soaked behind his back while vehemently denying any knowledge of a dead body lying at his feet!!
A property portal site had a listing of a HDB 5 room in the East at $990,000.
By letting the free market reign, this is what happens. $990,000 pricing is no longer about location and sea view but a pure pricng manipulation in an overly demand driven market. The rich always wins in this market.
Free market is not a fair market. The elected leaders need to discharge their responsibilility in looking after the interest of the ordinary people through their public polices and a governance that embodies the values of honesty, fairness, public service with a clear focus on the welfare of the people.
Ok, fair if you can’t control resale HDB prices. But if you peg new flats (20% or whatever discount) to resale prices of nearby flats, effectively you are saying you can’t control prices of new flats, or rather you don’t want. But of course politicians are expert with language semantics.