Please read gintai blog here and Minister Tan reply here before reading this rant although I would put it pass you that this is entirely legible and intelligible on its own.
Many PRs own big and nice property in their home countries and yet they are allowed by buy HDBs even though it is against the regulations. There is no way of verifying this with so many PRs around. Some houses are owned by their parents or using companies and trusts. I have said this before, govt should consider a capital gains tax for PRs who sell their HDB and ship out or a lesser capital tax if they upgrade to private property. Perhaps no tax to be levied if they purchase another HDB flat.
Another point, the possible reason why Anak Abu (again read gintai and minister) wants to so call stretch himself, as noted by Minister, and buy a bigger flat is perhaps because he needs the space for his children or even parents. Should he not buy a bigger flat now, when he wants to upgrade later, he would have to cough up the levy or cov or are we so optimistic as to think that Anak Abu can afford a private property to house his entire family? At the same time we are complaining about our TFR and children ignoring their elderly parents when the property policies are not even enticing or encouraging enough to set up decent sized and robust families.
I understand that the grants and subsidies are there to make HDB flat more affordable for citizens. But don’t forget the wages of many of workers have stagnated and their meager savings are being eroded by the high inflation rate. And we haven’t even got down to the elderly singles, divorcees, single parents and second marriage families. What sort of policies restrictions would they face from a housing agency who expects citizens to abide by some prudish moral standards of a single marriage and three children and cooperative parents and wholesome fully obliging siblings?? Can find but damn hard these days.
And if we delve further, we realised that in the overall working environment in Singapore, it favours a straight married couple (who might not have a clue of what is work-play balance) with no or one children, very much committed to their jobs, and entirely cooperative parents and siblings who don’t give too much trouble. Be sure to be able to afford full day child care as your parents might stay faraway because you are living in a new estate. Maybe an understanding boss so that you can leave work on time if not the child care centre will fine you. Pack some unhealthy food from kopitiam as dinner and go back to continue working again. If you have an hour before you sleep, check out the latest handbags, gadgets and new car models hitting town.
Yet, amongst this craziness of what we call a unique Singapore dream, we’re asking our young couples have more live firing sessions and raise the TFR rate (work long hours, stay far away from town, train spoil, taxi in cte catch fire, super jam, go back mother call to say HDB send her letter in English she don’t understand, wife can’t decide what to eat, work long overdue and still must got energy to do monkey business!!). And when some Singaporeans rise to the occassion (no pun intended) and indeed build a bigger family, it is called ‘over-stretched’.
Unbranded Bread n Butter 
I staying in a 3rm flat for many many years in Hougang. My secondary girl sleep in bedroom while the boy sleep living room. Sometimes I also understand why he does not like to come home and go friend house to sleep over. No money to pay COV and upgrade to bigger house. Just simple family with few thousands savings so cannot just spend everything one shot. Hope government can consider giving loan to cover COV also. Thanks.
If i don’t move out now, my son is going to be like your son in years to come. But I no money to pay COV even if i sell my place with COV. I’ll take years and years and years, before i finish paying, but later lease up, the house will be given back to garmen. Then I work for what ah?
ver good idea, only when government pay, they will take action, otherwise they wait for things to happen.
“I understand that the grants and subsidies are there to make HDB flat more affordable for citizens. ”
Didn’t we realize that grant and subsidies are been misused by the govt to justify hefty flat price increase ? Whenever people ask about the high price of hdb, their answer are always condescending in the same tune that the govt has subsidies and grants. It is as good as telling you that the flat has very high-price never mind it outstrip the subsidies, and too bad that some may not obtain subsidies and grants.
When people ask about bad effect of casino , the govt will reply that they have committee to monitor that , nevermind that it is ineffective at best.
Do you think this type of govt can be trusted to govern ?
Government shuts its ears because these are ordinary problems.
buying a flat is only for those who get married or single above 35 and earn 3000 or more. if u single dispatch rider or just normal blue collar very hard. if u fall in love with a divorce with kids then too bad. work 10 years tgt also dunnno can get a house of our own or not.
I am single & 40yrs. My PMET job day is over. I bought a HDB decades ago with my parents and they and one unmarried sibling now live and own the place. Right now, my CPFs are rotting. I live in rented apt. I can’t afford to get into the HDB resale market now. The private condo is also out of my reach now. I’m stuck and planning to emigrate. This country has no use or meaning to Singles people like me anymore. I gave it my best years, and they never did care, and never will. I thought about adopting but it will never be acceptable under this society. Why punish myself from being single to being single mom?
dont be sad, we need yr vote in 2016.
I am a Singapore citizen but I will stay in Malaysia when I retire. I will give my house to my son. My money will stretch longer in Malaysia as rental is really cheap. I have friends and relatives there. This is a fact, many Singaporeans would have to accept that they can have a better retirement in another country rather than home. Sad but true.
Government grant or subsidy to its people should actually bring joy to the family that qualiifies.
However, in Singapore, Singaporeans are not adding this grants or subsidy in their equation when buying their flat because it adds up to nothing!
These grants and subsidies are there just for name sake.
We demand for more, for our children to benefit from our hard work for this nation.
When the ruling party knows how to look after their own kind, we too should know to look after our children.
you forget to add: assuming both couples hold their jobs forever in whatever economic situation, no pay cut, no retrenchment to service the mortage loan, no wage undercutting from FTs… newborn baby hopefully no complications, born perfectly, dun have to incur additional fees….. dun get sick… parents hopefully also dun get sick but age very healthy and nicely….
these are the few assumptions policy makers use in their policymaking.. so utopian right? coz we are singapore… super nice country without homeless ppl….. poor ppl here better than poor ppl in america…. majulah.. dun forget to post on NDP website y you love singapore sooo much!!
Wow! If working long hours, living in suburban areas, helping your mother out and a burning taxi along then highway are all your problems, then there are only two solutions available to you: live in a fairy tale country that possibly exists, or committ suicide since life is too hard for you.
10 years ago, i was in the same situation. i looked hard for a solution but found none – the only one i can think of is to migrate. We are now dual citizen of sg & canada, my 2 elders kids are earmarked to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. In sg, we were a middle income family and worked long & hard – always under the constant fear of being under the chopping board and whatever we have accumulated would be gone in time.
The world is ever becoming smaller and smaller but walking out of Sg to start a new life while we were young and able to do so is the most challenging. Once you done it, i can tell u, it is a different world. Pappy can only do nasty thing things to their own citizen – but the qualityof life you can give to your family, is only you who can do it. Be brave.
Soon to be ex-sgean
Everyone say thanks the Mr Mah, PAP and market subsidy. Let me explain market subsidy in simple terms to the laymen. It’s increase by 300% then five 20% subsidy. Let say the total cost of a building a HDB flat is $100K. HDB increases the price to $400K and then gives an $80K subsidy, so the selling price is $320K. That’s a profit of $220K per unit. Profit is not the only reason for doing this.
The other reason is the government debt to the people. In the earlier years, our parents had lots of money upon retiring at 55, even after paying for their flat. That meant that the coffers will be empty in no time. So the price of HDB was jacked up, so that you continue paying for 30 years almost all your CPF contribution, so minus all the compulsory retention amount, you collect nothing at retirement.
The government likes to boast that HDB is an asset and showboats his asset enhancement project. So let me ask all of you, when selling you an HDB unit the government usees market value, when calculating the resale levy it uses the sales value. How come when your HDB is actually used as an asset to pledge to CPF it is only worth so little.
hub prices can go up coz of market forces, sure, but give more grants.
It’s all Mah Bow Tan’s fault.
I am probably a little late to contribute to this topic but after reading Mr Tan Chuan Jin’s reply to blogger Langgar, there is one aspect I really disliked.
He mentioned that Abu can choose to a flat further from the town centre, lower floors etc .. does he not know that available flats are not always sitting around for you to pick and choose all the time?
People sometimes have not much choice and they take the option they have at a given time. True that Abu could have got a “cheaper” flat but why not tell Singaporeans that cannot afford the high price to stay all the way in Choa Chu Kang?
And then comes another problem. Now we will know what “stature” you are depending on where you are staying in Singapore.
Seriously our leaders are just plainly giving out their own reasons and excuses whenever they feel that their position of power are being questioned.
Have any of our current leaders or MPs (non-opposition) gone through the same predicament as many Singaporeans in the recent years?
Have any of them struggled to get a job a home that do not cost an arm or leg?
NO .. all of them are highly paid and very comfortable.
So how in the world will they know what it is like to be people like us?
So before any of our leaders speaks, I suggest they look at the mirror and ask themselves this .. “how much money do I have in my bank account compared to many Singaporeans struggling to make a living and have a decent quality of life in Singapore”.
You know it is full of BS when you hear one and Mr Tan is full it.