Help middle class realise dream of owning private property

[reporter2]

Help middle class realise dream of owning private property

JUN 25, 2017


I support the call to bar foreign developers from participating in public tenders for residential sites (Keep foreign bidders out of housing; June 11).

Such developers are not only cash-rich, but may also have other non-commercial considerations to invest in Singapore, like wanting to diversify or minimise their political risk by investing outside their home country or moving capital to a safe haven like Singapore to avoid government scrutiny.

Accordingly, they are willing and able to pay high prices for land, which would translate eventually into inflated prices for all residential units, putting them out of the reach of most working-class Singaporeans.

As the middle class grows, boosted by higher educational levels, it is understandable that many in this group will aspire to own and live in private housing, notwithstanding the quality of public housing.

The Government should empathise and make suitable policy changes to ensure that land prices remain stable so that these Singaporeans will be able to realise their dream. This will help increase social mobility and bring about a more equitable society.

Most Singaporeans already cannot afford freehold landed property, especially those in coveted districts. This asset class is almost exclusively held by the wealthy elite, and typically transferred from one generation to the next. Therefore, I urge the Government to act to prevent the escalation in land values and boost our social stability and cohesion.

Even with the current cooling measures, real estate professionals are already expecting a market recovery in the months ahead and saying that home prices "are likely to inch upwards with the strong land-bid prices we are witnessing" (New private home sales fall for 2nd month; June 16).

Ang Ah Lay

[teddybear]

Why didn't they realize that to "Help middle class realise dream of owning private property", the most effective way is to just BAN foreigners from buying private properties in the OCR heartlands and also ban PRs from buying HDB flats?
That will be ultimately most effective way to prevent HDB resale flats and OCR private property prices from being bidded up too high and beyond the rich of HDB upgraders!

Help middle class realise dream of owning private property

JUN 25, 2017


I support the call to bar foreign developers from participating in public tenders for residential sites (Keep foreign bidders out of housing; June 11).

Such developers are not only cash-rich, but may also have other non-commercial considerations to invest in Singapore, like wanting to diversify or minimise their political risk by investing outside their home country or moving capital to a safe haven like Singapore to avoid government scrutiny.

Accordingly, they are willing and able to pay high prices for land, which would translate eventually into inflated prices for all residential units, putting them out of the reach of most working-class Singaporeans.

As the middle class grows, boosted by higher educational levels, it is understandable that many in this group will aspire to own and live in private housing, notwithstanding the quality of public housing.

The Government should empathise and make suitable policy changes to ensure that land prices remain stable so that these Singaporeans will be able to realise their dream. This will help increase social mobility and bring about a more equitable society.

Most Singaporeans already cannot afford freehold landed property, especially those in coveted districts. This asset class is almost exclusively held by the wealthy elite, and typically transferred from one generation to the next. Therefore, I urge the Government to act to prevent the escalation in land values and boost our social stability and cohesion.

Even with the current cooling measures, real estate professionals are already expecting a market recovery in the months ahead and saying that home prices "are likely to inch upwards with the strong land-bid prices we are witnessing" (New private home sales fall for 2nd month; June 16).

Ang Ah Lay

[Arcachon]

Why didn't they realize that to "Help middle class realise dream of owning private property", the most effective way is to just BAN foreigners from buying private properties in the OCR heartlands and also ban PRs from buying HDB flats?
That will be ultimately most effective way to prevent HDB resale flats and OCR private property prices from being bidded up too high and beyond the rich of HDB upgraders!

Because the money from the Land sale go into GIC.

[teddybear]

So, to answer the question:
1) There is NO INTENTION to Help middle class realise dream of owning private property????

2) Whatever property cooling measures implemented are an excuse to raise more revenue????

Because the money from the Land sale go into GIC.

[Arcachon]

So, to answer the question:
1) There is NO INTENTION to Help middle class realise dream of owning private property????

2) Whatever property cooling measures implemented are an excuse to raise more revenue????

1) EC is there to help the middle class.

2) Cooling measures are to stop people like me from getting more.

But at the end of the day, if the middle class still waiting for some kind of fruit to drop, God also cannot help them.

[teddybear]

Ok, since "EC is there to help the middle class" means that "There is NO INTENTION to Help middle class realise dream of owning REAL private property"????

And how does ABSD stop people like you from getting more when they just need to pay up the ABSD and get more indebted?

1) EC is there to help the middle class.

2) Cooling measures are to stop people like me from getting more.

But at the end of the day, if the middle class still waiting for some kind of fruit to drop, God also cannot help them.

So, to answer the question:
1) There is NO INTENTION to Help middle class realise dream of owning private property????

2) Whatever property cooling measures implemented are an excuse to raise more revenue????

[Arcachon]

Ok, since "EC is there to help the middle class" means that "There is NO INTENTION to Help middle class realise dream of owning REAL private property"????

EC is private after 10 years

And how does ABSD stop people like you from getting more when they just need to pay up the ABSD and get more indebted?

ABSD is not the one that stop me, TDSR is the one. I am happy to pay ABSD only 13%- SGD 5400.

[PropVestor]

Help middle class realise dream of owning private property

JUN 25, 2017

As the middle class grows, boosted by higher educational levels, it is understandable that many in this group will aspire to own and live in private housing, notwithstanding the quality of public housing.

Ang Ah Lay

The EC scheme is a direct address to the need for middle income Singaporeans to own private properties. This is a fantastic route for aspiring young Singaporeans to go above HDB for their first property if they meet the income quota. Once their ECs become privatised, they get to enjoy private property status just like anyone who bought a PC directly.

There are those who do not want to stay in private property even though they have the means to do so. There is no one policy that can address such different permutations of middle class activity except to address speculative behaviours using TDSR and ABSD to name a few.

Ang Ah Lay is lumping a very big middle class together and naming them as 'unable to afford' high prices from aggressive foreign developer biddings. No one policy can address a sub-segment need. CMs are here to curb accelerated prices which have worked to some measure.

Is the argument more that the CMs are not effective enough to curb current demand which led to aggressive bidding or to have even higher gates for foreign funds to enter Singapore property? These developers are also subjected to the same stringent 'fines' that they need to pay for unsold units after TOP.

2 cents,
PropVestor

[teddybear]

It used to be a myth to believe that EC after 10 years will become same like private properties, mainly because:
1) EC are always over-crowded with too many units and relatively insufficient facilities (vs private condos).

2) EC quality of furnishing is also much poorer than private condos.

3) Obviously the status and kind of people living in EC will be different.

However, with the massive new OCR private condo estates coming out with missive number of units and insufficient facilities and with poor furnishings as well, nowaday there seem to be few visible different between EC and OCR private condos!
There also appear to be a trend of some developers building CCR and RCR condos in this direction as well (e.g. Interlace, D'Leedon by Capitaland) and then selling them slightly cheaper vs surrounding condos. This kind of pricing strategy can only fool the innocent and those lacking knowledge in property purchase. So Buyers be fore-warned! You pay peanuts you get monkeys! You try living in these properties and you will face lots of repair and maintenance issues a few years down the road!

The EC scheme is a direct address to the need for middle income Singaporeans to own private properties. This is a fantastic route for aspiring young Singaporeans to go above HDB for their first property if they meet the income quota. Once their ECs become privatised, they get to enjoy private property status just like anyone who bought a PC directly.

There are those who do not want to stay in private property even though they have the means to do so. There is no one policy that can address such different permutations of middle class activity except to address speculative behaviours using TDSR and ABSD to name a few.

Ang Ah Lay is lumping a very big middle class together and naming them as 'unable to afford' high prices from aggressive foreign developer biddings. No one policy can address a sub-segment need. CMs are here to curb accelerated prices which have worked to some measure.

Is the argument more that the CMs are not effective enough to curb current demand which led to aggressive bidding or to have even higher gates for foreign funds to enter Singapore property? These developers are also subjected to the same stringent 'fines' that they need to pay for unsold units after TOP.

2 cents,
PropVestor

[PropVestor]

It used to be a myth to believe that EC after 10 years will become same like private properties, mainly because:
1) EC are always over-crowded with too many units and relatively insufficient facilities (vs private condos).

2) EC quality of furnishing is also much poorer than private condos.

3) Obviously the status and kind of people living in EC will be different.

However, with the massive new OCR private condo estates coming out with missive number of units and insufficient facilities and with poor furnishings as well, nowaday there seem to be few visible different between EC and OCR private condos!
There also appear to be a trend of some developers building CCR and RCR condos in this direction as well (e.g. Interlace, D'Leedon by Capitaland) and then selling them slightly cheaper vs surrounding condos. This kind of pricing strategy can only fool the innocent and those lacking knowledge in property purchase. So Buyers be fore-warned! You pay peanuts you get monkeys! You try living in these properties and you will face lots of repair and maintenance issues a few years down the road!

I have no doubt that EC is a fantastic scheme to keep a segment of Singaporeans working hard in their career and own something that is higher tier than HDB. This allows upward mobility for Singaporeans who find PC out of reach in the immediate term (they might well afford it after MOP for their ECs which is apparent now). I find this compromise a great trade-off on the onset of PC volatile pricing across the entire Singapore.

Furnishing good or not is subjective. Being a seasoned investor like yourself, you would have seen aplenty to justify your stand but not all Singaporeans especially younger ones who are first owners of PC and ECs are like you. To them, ECs with facilities is much more attractive than living in HDB for example going to a public pool for their kid's swimming lessons versus just going downstairs. This is a huge motivation for parents who just want to provide something extra for their kids.

We need to throw in some longitudinal perspective from their point of view too. That 'kind of people living in ECs' is what kept the Singapore property dreams alive and we need to keep it going. I do not wear white and do not support all Singapore housing policies but this EC scheme really hits home for me from a strategic nation planning perspective.

2 cents,
PropVestor

[anythingwhatever]

I have no doubt that EC is a fantastic scheme to keep a segment of Singaporeans working hard in their career and own something that is higher tier than HDB. This allows upward mobility for Singaporeans who find PC out of reach in the immediate term (they might well afford it after MOP for their ECs which is apparent now). I find this compromise a great trade-off on the onset of PC volatile pricing across the entire Singapore.

Furnishing good or not is subjective. Being a seasoned investor like yourself, you would have seen aplenty to justify your stand but not all Singaporeans especially younger ones who are first owners of PC and ECs are like you. To them, ECs with facilities is much more attractive than living in HDB for example going to a public pool for their kid's swimming lessons versus just going downstairs. This is a huge motivation for parents who just want to provide something extra for their kids.

We need to throw in some longitudinal perspective from their point of view too. That 'kind of people living in ECs' is what kept the Singapore property dreams alive and we need to keep it going. I do not wear white and do not support all Singapore housing policies but this EC scheme really hits home for me from a strategic nation planning perspective.

2 cents,
PropVestor

Well said...

[anythingwhatever]

1) EC is there to help the middle class.

2) Cooling measures are to stop people like me from getting more.

But at the end of the day, if the middle class still waiting for some kind of fruit to drop, God also cannot help them.

Generally agree. Note that there are 2 sub-classes within the Middle Class:

EC: The Sandwich(ed) Class
PC: The non-Sandwich Class

[Arcachon]

Generally agree. Note that there are 2 sub-classes within the Middle Class:

EC: The Sandwich(ed) Class
PC: The non-Sandwich Class

Don't know got some many Classes, only know got money buy property put in the Bank only depreciate more than official inflation.

[frumnat]

Generally agree. Note that there are 2 sub-classes within the Middle Class:

EC: The Sandwich(ed) Class
PC: The non-Sandwich Class

Actually within the so-called Middle Class, there are many relatively affluent ones with lots of disposable cash. Some choose to spend on cars (yup, I can never comprehend!), some will invest in stock markets while some are just clueless on what to do with their money or just simply risk averse.