The high cost of living and runaway property prices in Singapore have started to affect Singaporeans in their choices in life. The early mantra of the PAP govt was to give every Singaporean a roof over his head, ie a house or flat. Home ownership was the way to win the hearts of Singaporean voters. Vote the PAP for a flat to call your own. Give every citizens a stake in the island.
This policy has done well for the PAP and also for Singaporeans. Singapore is proud to boast to the world that it has the highest percentage of home ownership in the world. Never mind if it is only for 99 years, or 99 year leasehold. It is long enough for one or two generations to live in.
Govt flats then were really cheap when it started. Yes, it is no shame to call the flats built in the 60s and 70s cheap. Less than $7,000 for a 3 room flat in Queenstown, less than $30,000 for a 5 room flat in Holland Village. The numbers are like fiction, unbelievable when the prices today for a 3 room flat could be $400k an a 5 room flat costing more than a million dollar.
For some Singaporeans, or more and more Singaporeans, it is no joke trying to service a $500k housing mortgage over 30 years with 2 incomes, ie two employees' pay. They pray that they would not lose their jobs in the 30 years or paying the instalments would not be easy. But with the changing economic landscape and the easy influx of foreigners, losing their jobs to foreigners is the norm. Many Singaporeans are getting sacked or retrenched prematurely or being employed on short term contracts. This is highly undesirable when there is a huge mortgage hanging on their necks.
Then there were the more adventurous that took profits took early, selling their two choices of the apple, ie two HDB flats and not allow to buy a third flat from the govt and unable to pay for a resale flat costing hundreds of thousands or more than a million.
Therefore, many Singaporeans would end up unable to buy a flat and have to rent. Yes, no fish, prawns also ok. Can't buy a flat, go rent one. This problem is going to escalate and accumulate over the years. Some rich people also cannot afford to buy private properties, and not qualified for HDB flats also started to rent landed properties as their residents. This is looking like a new trend. Even ministers are doing so. Perhaps they should raise the salary of ministers so that they can afford to buy homes instead of renting. Homeownership is for Singapoeans to have a stake in the island so that they have a stake to defend and protect. Maybe Singapore can depend on foreigners to defend the island now that many also have a stake in the island. Poor thing if Singaporean cannot afford to buy homes and have nothing to defend in the island.
10 comments:
Renting is an even bigger problem. Rents are not cheap and landlords know how and when to skin a cat. Rents could just rise by hundreds or even thousands of dollars upon renewal, take it or leave it. Everyone knows the market.
What I always hear is that HDB flats are so affordable. Wonder if it is true, but the numbers are truly mind boggling. Luckily I bought my affordable HDB more than 38 years ago, when affordable had a totally different meaning altogether.
Wonder what would await many new citizens who are yet to be born in the future ? By that time, we wonder what would be the prices of HDB flats ? I am talking about the next generations from ordinary families, not sons or daughters of the millionisters or the rich towkays, or born with a silver spoon group.
Papies only lucrative slaughterings of the Daft Sinkies are thru their BTO pigeon holes.
Now even have a pre fab manufacturing factory to manufacture more monotonus same design slabs to simply hosted up and join like lego blocks.
Pigeon holes so near that can even pass sugar and salts to neighbours requesting for them.
Built at a cost of mere thousands and charged hundreds of thousands.
What's Land Reserve Taxes for the next generations in having SLA and transfered funds from right hand to the left and said lost billions of dollars as subsidies.
Somemore had ex Prison wardens as their architects in designing dungeon passage way of flats holes facing one another like prison cells arrangements that cannot see the sunlights.
Sold at hundred over thousands even for a 35 sqm hole
Next the Papers for monies C.O.Es.
With so much no need sweat revenues that they Auto Pilot and had lucrative renumerations for themselves and so much free time for extra martial affairs.
Even the Oppo MPs are paid so well that they do the same.
All FAT Pigs in the Farms.
This would be the M.O.T demise of Sinking Land without any external economy for the future youngs
Just encouraged Be Hawkers, Master Chefs and yes sirs yes sirs Servile industries.
Too smug and arrogrant thinking that we had arrived.
Only knew how to punt and made fast bucks leaving the Reserves to the Foxes that will squandered all in a flash.
Sinking Land is doomed.
Singaporeans sweat and toil a whole life to put a little money in their savings in the CPF.
See how easy billions are loss or thrown into third world countries with very high risk of getting the money back. And billions are spent hiring foreigners to manage our life savings and reserves.
Did the guardians of our reserves say anything, ask any question?
Aiyo Anon 11.46
Even our own so called Presidential Aspiring Candidate so daft and dumb that he does not know even what's the Presidential Duties are!
Said Sinking Land President must not challenge the Ruling Government and just a Puppet Pays Collected and Corrected Sirs!
Sinkies so many so supposed highly electrocuted but so dumb.
Also think that that Ng also a spoiler to spilt votes for that Botak.
What's running for a President with a Fiancee?
Sinkies are mostly still in their dreamland and will wake up in nightmares when the county goes into a Recession and Depression.
Now already so many suicides cases and really feel apprehensions for the future young.
Presidential duties is looking after the reserves. That is all Singaporeans are supposed to know. True or not, nobody knows, I also only hearsay. The President looks after the reserves, but who looks after the President, who is looking after the reserves, is the pertinent question? It is just like the chicken and egg situation.
Cannot blame Ng, as even Ong Teng Cheong was not allowed to know how much was the reserves then. Ong was only told to watch the reserves, without knowing how much! Even wanting to know how much is a sin.
Hi Anon 12.48
It's that Gerogie Boy!
He who just wanted to be a ceremonial and puppet President.
NOT Ng!
Please lah. Why the Papies are so admant to have their peoples as President?
Because they were afraid that many laspses just like the AG audited comments on so many Ministries and even afflilated organisations that were on Government fundings.
When you are in then under the Constitution you can demanded over your powers and rights to have all the audited Reserves presented to you.
This is the Objective of LKY and his Ministers hard headed proceedings to have another watchdog for our reserves and protection for our future generations.
Their actual aim is that other than the Papies Government might misuse the Reserves and so safeguard the Reserves.
But mismanagement might also be on the Papies
So we need an independent and neutral brave soul as President to carry out the checking long long overdue.
Where got split votes? In the end all botak's enemies disqualified or not up to glass tower level. No contest!
Anyone think it is important to know how much Singapore has invested in India, how much is made or loss? How much is Temasek paying all the Indian investment professionals a year? How much is the total over 10 years, 20 years....
Did Temasek make enough from investments in India to pay for their salaries?
Think the 4G elites should appease Singaporeans this coming Aug 09 National Day for the recent embarrassing sex and corruption scandals by crediting each Singaporean bank account with say S$2,000 !
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