Housing for the single people

Singapore’s public housing policy makes a major shift to provide homes for struggling singles.

SINGAPORE’S public housing, which is slowly picking itself up from a bad fall caused by a wave of foreign arrivals, has turned its attention to providing homes for struggling singles.

This vulnerable lot includes people from young professionals to the semi-skilled who are deterred from owning a home after years of working as a result of runaway property prices.

For the first time, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) – a pioneering icon that has built one million homes – is allowing singles above 35 years old to buy small, one-bedroom flats directly from the government.

Previously, they could only buy resale flats which are more expensive and in competition with foreign PRs.

Some 154 units were offered to singles and 8,500 applied in an unexpectedly strong response that could create a future for it. Two singles can apply and qualify for grants later when they tie the knot.

It is the government’s recognition of changing times.

The more conservative elements are worried this could perpetuate singlehood in a society whose rate of procreation is dangerously low.

Nevertheless, about one-third of these small apartments in non-mature estates is reserved for first-timer singles, with the cheapest unit costing S$76,000 (RM195,700).

Eligible applicants must be at least 35 and earn no more than S$5,000 (RM12,900) (half the usual amount) a month.

More importantly are the grants. The total possible grants on offer to those who meet all the conditions amount to around S$60,000 (RM154,500).

“For the lucky ones, the cheapest possible flat is S$16,000 (RM41,200). But in all likelihood, a lot of applicants might pay around S$32,000 (RM82,400),” said a blogger. “But hey, that’s still much cheaper than a resale flat.”

This is the initiative of National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who took over the ministry two years ago. He began to speed up building projects and reduce costs with a fair amount of success.

The scheme has gained praises from singles despite the small number of units on offer.

Since 2011, the Malaysian-born Khaw began to cut down the long queues.

He has virtually cleared the backlog for all first-time applicants and is now working on reducing queues for families with children.

This year, another 13,600 apartments look set to be completed.

Nearly 85% of Singaporeans live in HDB flats which are cheaper than private property.

For the aspirant home owner, the question of adequate supply and price is of utmost importance, particularly those who plan to wed.

Rising cost has been a major cause of many Singaporeans marrying late and avoiding childbirth.

During the peak of the current shortage, selection of applicants became very tight. Success rates were as low 15% with some people having to wait several years.

Some are forced to put their marriage plans on hold. Those who fail keep trying year after year. Those who can afford it buy resale flats.

The situation worsened when the city’s doors were thrown open to foreigners.

Since then some 553,000 mostly professionals and technicians were granted permanent residence (PR) status, which allows them to buy resale public housing in competition with locals.

The public complained bitterly about the over-crowdedness and stress on the nation’s infrastructure, including housing shortage and rising prices.

It forced Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to apologise to the nation for his government’s mistakes, saying: “If we didn’t quite get it right, I am sorry but we will try and do better the next time.”

In the 80s, an average HDB flat cost less than three times an average annual income, but as the population spiralled, demand outstripped supply.

That three times rose to 5.5 times annual earnings last year and the minister now wants to pull it down to four times.

New three-room flats average around S$300,000 (RM772,300) to S$400,000 (RM1.03mil) with resale ones at choice areas hitting a million dollars.

“Our children may not be able to afford to buy houses in the future,” a Singaporean lamented. “I hope prices of flats can be controlled, so that my children can have their own homes.”

This system of giving priority based on group needs has so far worked well.

It also serves to reassure elderly Singapore-ans and young people who have just completed tertiary education and are about to start working.

They are the people most worried about living without a home in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Discontented young Singaporeans – the biggest group of new voters – are today the most important factor to decide how long the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) will govern this place.

The recent tumble of the HDB, one of Singapore’s early icons, ironically mirrors the decline of popularity of the ruling party itself.

The passion Singaporeans have for property can only be understood by people living in small, land-squeezed cities.

After independence in 1965, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew announced the objective of creating a home-owning society.

“If every family owned its home, the country would be more stable … I believe this sense of ownership is vital for our new society,” Lee said.

The trouble for the current national development minister is not for the present but more for the future. The PAP government wants to have a population of 6.9 million by 2030 by bringing in more foreigners.

This means his work is never-ending.

“Its past achievement had made the PAP one of the most successful parties in Asia, but it can also bring it down if it stumbles,” said a professional, who is still paying off a 30-year HDB loan. - The Star