Leeds
Guess most people have read Chua Mui Hong's article in The Sunday Times today on the need to increase supply of resale HDB flats. Be prepared for some policy changes to HDB resale flat soon.
My take is that it may make sense to sell your HDB flats now at current high price before more owners are "forced" to sell soon.
Just my thoughts!
Junior
i have read, but i dont agree...in my opinion, as what BW has said, it takes times to cool the market and all the CMs are slowly taking effect. Be patience....as what he says, it is working. u dont need another CM
In the article, she mentioned that she is not in favor of banning the PR from buying HDB but i think, i would rather that PR cannot buy HDB. If they want to stay for long, convert to citizen, if not for long, then please rent. if cannot afford PC rental, then go HDB rental which is why there is a need to have the 4% HDB owner to provide the rental of HDB, if not, another problem. Why should we let PR profit from HDB when they are not part of nation building or if they do not want to convert to citizen. when they are citizen, then they can have a bite...
if we keep having this rule that rule and then tell ppl this is free market, i think it is very nonsense...
another point she brought up about HDB appreciation. If i know that today i buy HDB for 200K and then 20yrs later i can only sell for 250k, then I might as well rent from garmen, who would buy if it doesn't appreciate?? or appreciate not even enough to cover inflation...
The article needs more than just a look and you will realise that it is not as simple as what she mentioned.
Anyway, this is just my opinion.
Originally Posted by Leeds
Guess most people have read Chua Mui Hong's article in The Sunday Times today on the need to increase supply of resale HDB flats. Be prepared for some policy changes to HDB resale flat soon.
My take is that it may make sense to sell your HDB flats now at current high price before more owners are "forced" to sell soon.
Just my thoughts!
Last edited by lajia; 18-11-12 at 16:07.
Newbie
Agree with most of your points, but not fair to say PR don't contribute to nation building.
They pay taxes like you and me.
Their sons serve NS like yours and mine.
In addition, they get fall lower down the list when it comes to housing and schooling etc... So cannot complain already hor.
Asking them to give up home country citizenship to take up Singapore citizenship is rather harsh and unfair. There couldn't more than meets the eye.. Eg. Elderly parents, etc. not so simple.
Disclaimer: I am not a PR.
Leeds
I think we should not under estimate Ms Chua and her thinking. She is no ordinary journalist. She knows the workings of the government just like Mr Han Fook Kwang who wrote in the same paper urging the government to let resale flats for citizens only just 2 weeks ago.
http://forums.condosingapore.com/showthread.php?t=15547
Their writings about resale HDB flats within a short period of 2 weeks cannot be ignored.
I believe more CM is coming soon to curb prices of resale HDB flats. It could be next week when HDB announces its last sale of BTO flats for the year. Keep your ears wide open.
Junior
When u have limited choice, that is what we say no choice. It is also unfair to our citizen that they enjoy the benefit here and got to keep their citizenship elsewhere...why, because they want to return one day to where they come. So if u let them rip the benefit and go, that is fair??
Anyway, just my opinion. When it comes to such, they have their right to choose and we also have our rite to keep the benefit for citizen.
Either they convert and stay or then just thank you and they go...which is what they want also, if here no good no benefit, they will come and help u build your nation? Think....there is already mutual benefit but when it goes deeper, then sorry, this is the limit.
No Offence...
Junior
http://www.asiaone.com/A1Business/Ge...16-383895.html
he already say CMs working if introduce some more and market go upside down who answer...
ya maybe on PR buying resale hdb maybe...
Senior
By Chua Mui Hoong, Opinion Editor
A property agent friend rang last week with two bits of news she wanted to discuss.
First, she said, the rental market is very weak. She had put up a Housing Board flat for rent and was shocked at how slow the response was. "Lots of foreigners are going home, they can't renew their passes," she explained.
The second issue: prices of HDB resale flats. She is worried for her sons, and whether they can afford their own home. "Crazy," she said, referring to reports of the Queenstown flat that sold for $1million and the executive condominium unit reportedly fetching $1.6million. "Will the Government let this continue?"
Each year, about 30,000 couples get hitched. Assuming those aged 26 to 30 are waiting to get married, that's five cohorts of 30,000 couples worried about whether they can afford a flat, or 150,000 couples.
Since each couple has four parents, that's 600,000 Singaporean parents fretting over runaway housing prices.
No wonder the subject spawns plenty of chatter online and in the mainstream media and in coffee shops.
The worry is that soaring HDB resale flat prices will feed into higher prices for new subsidised flats, and put HDB housing beyond the reach of the average worker.
Why resale flat prices soar appears puzzling at first glance.
Basic economics tells us prices turn on demand and supply.
First, consider the demand side. Why is there such strong demand for HDB flats in a country with 90 per cent home ownership?
The answer lies in three words: newlyweds, foreigners and churn.
The first are young couples forming new households.
The second are permanent residents (PRs) allowed to buy HDB flats, who make up 20 per cent of recent HDB resale flat transactions.
The third refers to folks who have sold their own homes (either HDB or private property) for whatever reason and need a new place.
You can curb demand to cool prices. In fact, the Government has done so, by building more build-to-order flats to cater to newlyweds and some of the churners; and by requiring those who own private property in Singapore or overseas to sell their other properties if they buy an HDB flat.
But I think more effort needs to go into the supply side of the equation.
To do this, we need to understand why the supply of resale flats is so limited.
The number of resale flats sold has fallen over the years: from 39,320 in FY2009, to 30,061 in FY2010 and 24,331 in FY2011. That's a fall of 38 per cent in three years.
At the same time, the number of flats put up for sub-letting has increased: from 27,256 to 36,440 to 41,162 over the same three-year period to FY2011. That's a rise of 51 per cent.
Clearly, more HDB flat-owners who don't need their flats to live in are finding it more worthwhile to rent them out than sell them.
Why?
In part it is due to new restrictions being imposed on the purchase of resale flats, dissuading existing flat-owners from selling, for fear they can't buy an HDB resale flat in future.
If you own both private property and an HDB resale flat for example, you're unlikely to sell the latter. If you did, you'd find that current rules prevent you from purchasing an HDB resale flat in future unless you're prepared to sell off your private property too.
But the real answer to why folks want to rent out, not sell, their resale flat, lies in one word: Yield.
With good rental, it becomes attractive to rent out your HDB flat for an income stream, rather than sell it now for instant capital gains.
Would you sell your four-room flat for $400,000 now? Or hold on to it, get $2,200 a month or $26,400 in annual rental income for 10 years, and then sell it in 2022, by which time you hope the price goes up to $600,000?
It's a no-brainer. A steady income stream today, with possible capital appreciation tomorrow, gives every reason for HDB flat-owners to hang on to their money-making machine.
What works for an individual HDB landlord, however, may not be ideal for society as a whole.
If fewer resale flats come onto the market, prices will remain inflated, and all the cooling measures on the demand side won't be effective.
This is why I think there must be measures to boost the supply of resale flats too.
You can't mandate or force HDB flat-owners to sell their flats. That would be politically untenable and goes against the free market here.
But you can create incentives and disincentives to change the equation for HDB landlords.
The basic philosophy is to persuade folks who don't need an HDB flat to live in, to sell it.
First, permanent residents who own HDB flats. I am not in favour of banning PRs from buying HDB resale flats. After all, they live and work in Singapore and need affordable housing too.
But they must live in the flats. This means requiring them to sell their HDB flat when they leave Singapore. HDB has also introduced rules to limit the number of years PRs can sub-let their flats.
Second, make sure the rental income of HDB flat landlords is declared and taxed. Those who rent out their flats now need to declare this to the HDB, including stating the amount of rental.
HDB and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore must work seamlessly to ensure taxes are paid. This will increase the tax liability of those who already earn good incomes. If they are in the top income bracket, every 20 cents of their rental dollar go back to the taxman.
Third, on top of the usual tax on income, impose a special levy on HDB rental income for those who also own private property. There are about 33,000 of them, or 4 per cent of the total HDB stock.
The levy can be justified as a redistribution measure. After all, this group doesn't need a home to live in and are wealthy enough to afford private housing. Meanwhile, their younger or less wealthy compatriots are being priced out of the basic housing market.
The free market allows landlords to collect rental. The state then steps in to impose a levy to alter the equation for the landlord, to persuade him to give up his title and sell the property.
A levy of, say, 50 per cent can tilt the balance towards selling rather than renting. High-income private property owners making money from their HDB flats will have to pay 20 cents per dollar in tax, and another 50 cents in levy. They get to keep only 30 cents per dollar of rent.
Some will consider it worthwhile to hold on to their HDB flats anyway, perhaps because they want to retire in one, or give it to their children. At the margin, however, there will be a number who figure it makes better financial sense to sell their HDB flats now while the market is robust.
If more units come onto the market, prices will certainly adjust.
More pertinently, it sends a clear signal to Singaporeans that while HDB flats can appreciate in value, they should not be traded like a high-yield investment asset. A high tax on rental yield will send such a message sharply.
Is this a drastic measure? Not by any means.
It will hit only those who own both HDB flats and private property. It's less intrusive than outright bans or tighter ownership restrictions.
It's certainly less drastic than the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) proposal to build a category of flats which can't be sold on the open market and can be priced lower. I applaud the SDP for its serious engagement on this issue and believe Singapore would be a richer society if opposition parties paid the same level of attention to policy proposals. But I belong to the category of those who don't think it's a good idea to deny lower-income households the opportunity to benefit from increases in value of their homes. There are other ways to help the bottom 40 per cent of households afford their own homes: build smaller flats, give more generous grants, offer interest-free loans.
In contrast, a levy on rental income from HDB flats is a fiscal measure that can be easily tweaked: If 50 per cent is not right, tweak it to 30, or 70. It hits the HDB landlord-investor right where it hurts most: his pocket. It can tilt the balance to make it less attractive for those who don't need a roof over their head to buy a resale flat.
Nor should there be concerns about a levy being passed on by landlords to tenants, inflating rental costs. As Singapore tightens the tap on foreign manpower, rental demand will soften in the years to come. It will become a tenants' market, and landlords won't be able to hold tenants to ransom.
[email protected]
Senior
http://www.tremeritus.com/2010/02/11...f-immigration/
After pussy-footing for the last few months and finding scapegoats to deflect blame from HDB, finally one person from the establishment dares to step forward and say the truth about the real reason behind the sky-rocketing HDB flat prices – former ISD officer and now Senior Writer of the Straits Times Chua Mui Hoong.
In an editorial published in the Straits Times today, Ms Chua wrote:
“The way I see it, rising resale flat prices reflect genuine pent-up demand spurred by high levels of immigration. They do not seem to be driven by speculative frenzy. Those priced out of the market may find it emotionally satisfying to finger PRs or speculators as scapegoats than to acknowledge that the market is moving faster than one’s income and savings can keep up with.”
She cannot be more right: though PRs are partly responsible for the spike in prices, they should not bear blame because they need a roofs over their heads as well.
The blame should like entirely on the government for allowing too many foreigners into Singapore within too short a period of time without building adequate number of new flats to house them thereby leading to the situation we are in today.
Young Singaporean couples are being priced out of the HDB market and either have to rent their own places or stay with their parents for the time-being, hardly ideal conditions for them to start a family of their own.
Common sense tells us that an increased population will definitely increase the demand of housing and prices will only go up if the demand is not met.
Since the new flats need a few years to construct, the onus is on HDB to plan way ahead and build adequate number of flats to meet future needs and not to be “caught offguard” by building more flats only now which does not relieve the shortage in the housing market at all.
According to figures from the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are nearly 100,000 immigrants including both new citizens and PRs in the year 2008 alone, but only 3,183 new flats were built in 2008:
[Source: HDB Financial Report 2008/2009]
It doesn’t take a statistician to come to the conclusion that the number of flats built were grossly inadequate to meet the demand of a rapidly increasing population.
The decrease in the number of new flats built by HDB coincides with the sky-rocketing prices of resale flats as Singaporeans needing a roof over their heads are forced to purchase a more expensive flat in the resale market thereby contributing to the overall price inflation:
Though HDB is now “ramping up the supply of new flats”, it is too late to meet present demand and Singaporeans will have to pay a hefty price for its lack of foresight in building more flats earlier to cater to the needs of a growing population.
The ruling party has been finding all kinds of excuses to cover their most glaring mistake from pinning the blame to fussy Singapore buyers, speculative frenzy and some people are buying HDB flats for rental income which all do not explain the astronomical prices:
1. If Singaporeans and PRs are indeed “flip-flopping” HDB flats for profits, why is HDB not taking any measures now to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control?
2. Unlike private properties, there are strict rules governing renting HDB flats with a minimum occupancy period of 5 years for new flats and 1 year for resale flats. It doesn’t make sense for an investor to fork out so much cash to buy a resale flat for rental purposes due to the time lag when he can well invest in private properties with higher rental yield.
The prices of HDB flats have doubled in the last five years or so: this is not “asset appreciation”, but a property bubble – the HDB flats are valued much more than they are actually worth because of a gross lack of supply in a market monopolized by one single provider.
The laws of economics dictate that the prices will not go up indefinitely, they will have to come down at one point or another because it is impossible for wages to catch up with it and when it comes crashing down, Singaporeans who have paid ridiculously high prices for the flats now will be plunged into financial distress as banks come calling in for them to top up their mortgage loans.
Singaporeans should start demanding answers from HDB: give us the exact breakdown costs of each unit of HDB and explain why so few flats were built when the population has been expected to grow in the next few years.
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Senior
http://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.f...-minority.html
THURSDAY, 3 MAY 2012
The case for insuring the unhealthy minority
State needs to compel insurers to cover pre-existing conditions
By Chua Mui Hoong, The Straits Times, 2 May 2012
I AM all of 43, earn a decent salary each month, and have assets in the bank. But I belong to the ranks of Singaporeans terrified of growing sick and old, who fear that all our savings will be wiped out by illness and that we will age alone and in pain in a rental flat, or some home for the destitute run by the state.
In my case, it isn't just paranoia.
At 43, I am uninsurable.
tweet @condoexchange
when ms chua speaks up, better sit up and plan for next course of action. mountains will shake.
Newbie
I seriously questioned the EQ of some low class reporter who always give low class brainless comments in the newspaper.
What if I am retired, I stay in the master bedroom and my kids all married and I rent the rooms out for my income, also need to tax?
Sometimes I also seriously questioned also the EQ and quality of our scholar government when introducing policy, the worst one I ever come across is the domestic helper need to go weekly off, it will be a pain for those caregiver to elderly at home, the domestic helper still needed to look after the elderly while the caregiver has to bring their children to tuitions etc during weekends and have to pay extra money for helper to stay home and maybe the helper also rather have off then to stay at home for extra money.
You may say no need go tuition, but isn't this also policy maker flop in the education policy which lead to this kind of tuition culture. If the educators argue not, then why the ang mo country not so stress and got no tuition like us?
We the sandwiches class have to take care of elderly and have to take of children and I work 7 days a week (5 week days in office and 2 weekends busy with the kids), what kind of work balance employer and government are hubbing? For taking care of the elderly and children, we the sandwiched class are at this era paying an unprecedent high fees for both taking care of elderly and children at the same time. Who's fault is this for the kind of life we are leading, obvious the policy makers.
Reporters, policy makers, think hard, consult the people harder before making s t u p i d recommendations / policies because you will never understand us because you can never be one of us.
Last edited by CondoInterested; 18-11-12 at 20:28.
Leeds
I concur!
tweet @condoexchange
if she has a twitter, i make damn sure i FOLLOW
Senior
if they force me to sell my hdb..i sure see MP...KNS...i stay HDB...i buy BUC condo ready in 3 years time...now u ask me sell my hdb...stay where...changi beach...
Newbie
It's a prelude to give tax man the excuse to collect tax. Only tax man can earn money, we poor citizen has no right to earn money. (只许州官放火,不许百姓点灯)
Out of the 2 evil, I would think SDP's suggestion is better because housing is for staying. Maybe I suggest a 3rd evil, make all rental in this country illegal, so no excuse for taxing the rental.
On taxation, million dollar questions are,
1. Does ERP successfully curbed road congestions?
2. Does COE successfully curbed road congestions?
The answer is obvious to above 2 questions. Why quota by Cert paying, why not just say the quota number and no money involved.
By taxing the rental, it will only cause rental to increase, when rental (part of cost of living) increase, many other items will increase and thus inflation.
Last edited by CondoInterested; 18-11-12 at 20:53.
Newbie
I don quite agree with Ms Chua that the HDB rental market is weak then why is owners still asking high
rent.
Newbie
Am I talking too much?
Cheng Hu chia wa lim kopi?
But I am really really piss with this kind of comments in papers, and whoever thought of this behind this.
This is not only a 'FINE' country as we see in some T-Shirts, it is a 'TAX' country.
Senior
this under supply is only temporary...1 or 2 years more we will have ample supply...
Junior
she is a nobody.
Newbie
If high rental tax can tilt people into selling, hmm... another stupid argument.
If I already fully pay the flat, if I don't stay, I also do not rent, why must I sell? I can keep it for my children to inherit what.
See all the arguments are hollow in the papers by this reporter and the one who coin the idea.
Junior
hahaha, you are among the 4% and if they start to act on this 4% mean they are very desperate liao....besides, don't think acting on this 4% will cool the resale market, and worst, it will destabilize the rental market...
i think...
just a pure supply and demand situation on the hdb market. the supply side already coming up so it will take time. If act further will rock the whole boat and will be very very dangerous.
if they force me to sell my hdb..i sure see MP...KNS...i stay HDB...i buy BUC condo ready in 3 years time...now u ask me sell my hdb...stay where...changi beach...
Junior
I don't think so...this under supply is only temporary...1 or 2 years more we will have ample supply...
Bro, can I just ask u a few simple question :
1. When ever there is a BTO project, how many apply and how many are available?
2. How many married and how many falts built?
Reference info
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/the.../marriages.pdf
http://www.hdb.gov.sg/pv_obj_cache/p...D%20CHARTS.pdf
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/the...hist/popn.html
Senior
i dunno bro but i know everybody cheong to apply for those hot BTO..i.e queenstown/bedok/bukit merah...etc...and all those ulu type in sengkang corner kena reject...the marriage part quite sensitive...dunno marry cos
of love spouse or love HDB..
Junior
Bro, sengkang now hot leh.... Punggol also hot...i dunno bro but i know everybody cheong to apply for those hot BTO..i.e queenstown/bedok/bukit merah...etc...and all those ulu type in sengkang corner kena reject...the marriage part quite sensitive...dunno marry cos
of love spouse or love HDB..
They are definitely shot over past few years....
They will never overbuilt... Why? Because bto can commence only a certain number has been met..l based on my past knowledge of how bto works... Unless they changed the ruling.
Leeds
I think Ms Chua idea is to discourage private property owners to keep their HDB flats for rental yield through taxation. It shouldn't affect you unless you choose to rent out your HDB flat when your new PC is ready.if they force me to sell my hdb..i sure see MP...KNS...i stay HDB...i buy BUC condo ready in 3 years time...now u ask me sell my hdb...stay where...changi beach...
Junior
Bro, it shouldn't affect him because govt did not implement... Hahaha...
She not authority... She editor... Hahahaha.
If she Minster of National development, I believe....
Hahahaha
Junior
Which other country allows non citizens to own public housing units?
Which other country allows owners of private properties to own public housing units?
Just admit it. We are dysfunctional.
Junior
rent out hdb sala meh??
some ppl sell their hdb for a one time profit can, and some ppl want to milk the cow slowly cannot meh??
both also pay for their HDB, no diff, just see how you take your profit thats all. Shouldn't do until like that also control. siao eh...
Newbie
The article on tremeritus at least sounds like someone who talks with brain.
mutant powerpuff
Which country has such beautiful, clean and comfortable public housing?
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