http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapor...ry_773112.html
budget debate: MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The maths of buying a flat
Published on Mar 3, 2012
ANYONE with an income of $1,000 can buy a Housing Board flat, the assertion went. But the figure startled many and yesterday, it was National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan's turn to explain the maths.
During Thursday's Budget debate, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam rebutted a claim by Workers' Party NCMP Gerald Giam that many younger Singaporeans from low-income households, who dream of buying a house for themselves and their parents, will find this difficult. Mr Tharman said that 98 per cent of Singaporeans below 35 earn at least $1,000 and are able to buy flats.
Said Mr Khaw: 'This piece of comment caused a stir precisely because it sounded so incredible.'
Mr Tharman was referring to a new two-room flat, he explained.
He pointed out that the subsidised price of new two-roomers was about $100,000, if the applicant is a first-timer. He will also be entitled to housing grants of up to $60,000.
'So the net selling price to him is about $40,000, and the monthly mortgage payment of such an HDB loan can be fully recovered from his Central Provident Fund contribution,' said Mr Khaw.
He added that most two-room applicants earn above that income ceiling, pointing out that their median income based on recent BTO launches stood at about $1,400.
DARYL CHIN
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