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04-11-2014, 04:00 PM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
KHAW BOON WAN: I STILL THINK FAMILIES WHO EARN $1,000 CAN BUY A FLAT
.node-article .field-name-link-line-above-tags{float: right;}.node-article .field-name-ad-box-in-article {float: left;margin: 15px 15px 10px 0;}.node-article .field-tags{clear: both;} Post date:
3 Nov 2014 - 5:32pm
http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/khaw_0.PNG?itok=_JS-_K_H (http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/field/image/khaw_0.PNG)
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that he did not think that “it (is) necessary for HDB to sell new HDB flats with a 70-year lease, alongside 99-year flats.”
This was in response to a question by Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Seah Kian Peng, who asked if the government “will consider offering first-time HDB flat buyers an option to choose a shorter lease of 70 years in addition to the current standard 99-year lease for new HDB flats”.
As to why the government does not think flats with 70-year leases are necessary, Mr Khaw said, “First, the upfront cost which HDB has to incur to offer a 70-year lease option is the same as that for a 99-year lease.”
In other words, if the government sells flats on a shorter lease, they will not be able to incur as high the profits.
He also said that, even though “a 70-year lease flat should be cheaper than a 99-year lease, the cost reduction is not directly proportionate to the reduction in lease.”
He said that this is because “flats with shorter lease tend to depreciate faster.”
On the 99-year lease, Mr Khaw said, “HDB buys land from the Singapore Land Authority for public housing on a 105-year lease” which “has enabled HDB to build and sell new flats on a 99-year lease.”
Mr Khaw also said that “new flats on a 99-year lease” are priced by the government to be “highly affordable for first-time buyers”.
He reiterated a point he made before that families who earn only $1,000 will still be able to “afford a 2-room BTO flat in a non-mature estate”.
He also said that families who “earn $2,000 can afford a 3-room BTO flat, and those who earn $4,000 per month, a 4-room BTO flat.”
He claimed that “They can do so with little or no out-of-pocket cash.”
The government has not revealed any statistics on the number of $1,000-income earners who have been able to buy flats.
The government has introduced the Lease Buyback Scheme, where elderly households are able to sell back part of their lease back to the government to receive some cash for retirement.
Mr Seah’s question could be based on the idea that if a person would have to sell back his or her flat lease back, the option could be given at the start to purchase a flat on a shorter lease instead, so that the lease need not be sold back later on.
Even as Mr Khaw said that the “cost reduction (for a flat on a shorter lease) is not directly proportionate to the reduction in lease”, he has not shown any calculations to back up this claim.
In September, when asked how the government “determines the value of the lease under the Enhanced Lease Buyback Scheme”, Mr Khaw had said, “The value of the lease retained by the owners is determined from the market value of the flat based on industry-accepted standards and valuation practice."
In July, Mr Khaw also said, “we control the construction programme; secondly, we set the price.”
Singaporeans are estimated have to pay 60 percent of the flat leases for the land which we do not own, even though the land costs cheaply to the government.
It seems that the government would prefer to profit from the sales of the flats right at the start, then decide how much they would want to give back if the lease is sold back. Either way, it looks like the government is set to profit from the sale of flat leases.
The lack of transparency behind how flat prices are determined and set gives little confidence to Singaporeans on the government’s claims of the flat prices.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?193320-Khaw-boon-wan-I-still-think-families-who-earn-1-000-can-buy-a-flat&goto=newpost).
KHAW BOON WAN: I STILL THINK FAMILIES WHO EARN $1,000 CAN BUY A FLAT
.node-article .field-name-link-line-above-tags{float: right;}.node-article .field-name-ad-box-in-article {float: left;margin: 15px 15px 10px 0;}.node-article .field-tags{clear: both;} Post date:
3 Nov 2014 - 5:32pm
http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/khaw_0.PNG?itok=_JS-_K_H (http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/field/image/khaw_0.PNG)
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that he did not think that “it (is) necessary for HDB to sell new HDB flats with a 70-year lease, alongside 99-year flats.”
This was in response to a question by Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Seah Kian Peng, who asked if the government “will consider offering first-time HDB flat buyers an option to choose a shorter lease of 70 years in addition to the current standard 99-year lease for new HDB flats”.
As to why the government does not think flats with 70-year leases are necessary, Mr Khaw said, “First, the upfront cost which HDB has to incur to offer a 70-year lease option is the same as that for a 99-year lease.”
In other words, if the government sells flats on a shorter lease, they will not be able to incur as high the profits.
He also said that, even though “a 70-year lease flat should be cheaper than a 99-year lease, the cost reduction is not directly proportionate to the reduction in lease.”
He said that this is because “flats with shorter lease tend to depreciate faster.”
On the 99-year lease, Mr Khaw said, “HDB buys land from the Singapore Land Authority for public housing on a 105-year lease” which “has enabled HDB to build and sell new flats on a 99-year lease.”
Mr Khaw also said that “new flats on a 99-year lease” are priced by the government to be “highly affordable for first-time buyers”.
He reiterated a point he made before that families who earn only $1,000 will still be able to “afford a 2-room BTO flat in a non-mature estate”.
He also said that families who “earn $2,000 can afford a 3-room BTO flat, and those who earn $4,000 per month, a 4-room BTO flat.”
He claimed that “They can do so with little or no out-of-pocket cash.”
The government has not revealed any statistics on the number of $1,000-income earners who have been able to buy flats.
The government has introduced the Lease Buyback Scheme, where elderly households are able to sell back part of their lease back to the government to receive some cash for retirement.
Mr Seah’s question could be based on the idea that if a person would have to sell back his or her flat lease back, the option could be given at the start to purchase a flat on a shorter lease instead, so that the lease need not be sold back later on.
Even as Mr Khaw said that the “cost reduction (for a flat on a shorter lease) is not directly proportionate to the reduction in lease”, he has not shown any calculations to back up this claim.
In September, when asked how the government “determines the value of the lease under the Enhanced Lease Buyback Scheme”, Mr Khaw had said, “The value of the lease retained by the owners is determined from the market value of the flat based on industry-accepted standards and valuation practice."
In July, Mr Khaw also said, “we control the construction programme; secondly, we set the price.”
Singaporeans are estimated have to pay 60 percent of the flat leases for the land which we do not own, even though the land costs cheaply to the government.
It seems that the government would prefer to profit from the sales of the flats right at the start, then decide how much they would want to give back if the lease is sold back. Either way, it looks like the government is set to profit from the sale of flat leases.
The lack of transparency behind how flat prices are determined and set gives little confidence to Singaporeans on the government’s claims of the flat prices.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?193320-Khaw-boon-wan-I-still-think-families-who-earn-1-000-can-buy-a-flat&goto=newpost).