The Ministry of National Development (MND) is reviewing whether the classification of public housing estates as mature or non-mature should be adjusted to “keep pace with the times”, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said on Sunday (Nov 20).

“As the non-mature estates start to come of age and the lines between them and the mature estates blur, such distinctions are becoming less relevant,” he said at a government engagement session.

“For example, those staying in Jurong East and Sengkang, currently classified as non-mature estates, may share with you the wide array of amenities in their towns, which are comparable to those in some mature estates.”

The Government is also studying how it can further prioritise access to public housing for those with urgent housing needs.

Amid higher-than-normal waiting times for Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, many Singaporeans have agreed that even among first-timer applicants, couples with children and lower-income families should be given more priority, Mr Lee said.

“But it is not easy to reach a consensus on how we define whose needs are more urgent, as evident from the direct tensions observed from the suggestions we have received,” he added.

The engagement session on Sunday was part of the Build pillar of the national Forward Singapore movement to refresh the country’s social compact. Sunday’s event was attended by more than 70 youth participants, mainly young working adults.

In his speech, Mr Lee addressed concerns Singaporeans have over the accessibility and affordability of public housing, especially with high demand and Covid-related construction disruptions driving up resale prices and BTO flat application rates.

ACCESSIBILITY, AFFORDABILITY

Noting that young adults are anxious about the strong competition for public housing, Mr Lee said that the Government has sped up the supply of flats this year and is prepared to launch up to 100,000 flats between 2021 and 2025 if the high demand does not subside.

In the latest November BTO launch exercise where 9,500 flats will be available, the more than 2,000 flats at Garden Waterfront I and II at Tengah will have shorter waiting times of about three years and four months, he said.

The number of BTO projects delayed by six months or more has also fallen, from more than 80 per cent of projects in 2021 to less than 50 per cent now, he added.

“So why do some first-timers still meet with unsuccessful ballots?… Largely, it is because couples are applying to mature estates or to sale of balance flats exercises, where the application rates are very high.”

Mr Lee said that the preference for flats in mature estates could have stemmed from “past impressions” of better amenities and transport access.

As the Government reviews the classification of estates, young couples may wish to consider applying for BTO flats in non-mature estates, where government records show that “virtually all” first-timer applicants succeed in getting a flat within three tries, Mr Lee said.

Mr Lee also noted suggestions that the Government build new flats ahead of demand to avoid supply shortages, instead of the present BTO model.

He said that this is already done where feasible, since construction tenders are called before the project is launched to the public.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) also begins construction at some sites ahead of demand, which is why some flats are offered with waiting times shorter than the actual construction period, though this has been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Lee added.

“But we do need to be measured, as ramping up the supply of flats significantly also means fewer land plots left to meet the needs of future generations of Singaporeans."

Mr Lee listed out a slew of various ideas Singaporeans have put forward to cool the resale market and said that there are always trade-offs to these suggestions.

One suggestion was to restrict HDB flats only to owners who occupy the units themselves and ban flats from being used for investment, or for private property owners to also own an HDB flat.

“On the other hand there are others who say that monetising one’s home via rental is a legitimate way to supplement one’s income,” he said.

“We have also received comments that allowing HDB flat owners whose life circumstances have improved to invest in private property is fair, considering that private property owners can purchase more than one private property without relinquishing their original one.”

Other suggestions include doing away with the resale market, banning of transactions with cash-over-valuations, tighter lease conditions on popular and expensive BTO projects and more grants to resale buyers but with stricter conditions.

“These are all useful proposals... and we are studying very carefully,” Mr Lee said. “There are no easy answers... but we will certainly benefit from having more minds put to these issues.”

‘WE ARE A SOCIAL AGENCY’

At the session, the youths were given a hypothetical scenario to allocate a limited number BTO flats to different groups of applicants, including first-timer families, existing homeowners and rental flat tenants.

They were placed in teams and each tasked with representing a demographic group, which kicked up lively discussions over which group’s needs should be prioritised over others.

Addressing the participants at the end of the session, Mr Lee said he was encouraged to see that many had chosen to sacrifice the allotted places for their demographic group to other groups of applicants instead.

“In many other societies, there is fragmentation,” he said. Singapore is unique in that 80 per cent of the population live in public housing, ranging from the lower income to the higher income, he added.

If more restrictions to public housing were imposed on higher-income earners, this percentage would fall.

“In those societies with very few levers on housing and housing affordability, when the private sector takes control of housing, then the fiscal imperative looms large… and everyone makes their own way or falls by the wayside and become homeless,” he said.

“We want to be very clear that at MND, we are a social agency,” Mr Lee said.

“Public housing is not just infrastructure, it's not buying and selling property alone. We are trying to reflect the needs of society, meet aspirations to the extent possible, and then be able to ensure that society remains cohesive.”

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by DARYL CHOO

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