TR EMERITUS

By Seah Chiang Nee from The Star The public housing crisis has revived the question whether Singapore, with only 700sq km of land, can continue to accommodate the current five million residents, let alone increase it by a further one-third. HOW is this land-squeezed island coping with housing an enlarged population of five million, including hundreds of thousands of recent foreign arrivals? The answer gleaned from public comments about the Housing Development Board (HDB), the national icon that builds homes for 80% of the people is: “surprisingly poor”, given its sterling track record. For 50 years, the HDB has helped to transform this former squatter colony into a global city of fine homes. At early times, it set a world record of building an average of one flat every 45 minutes. The recent unprecedented intake of foreigners has, however, dealt a blow to its reputation, judging by the widespread complaint of poor anticipation, insufficient flats and spiralling prices. As a result, resale subsidised apartments, which are still cheaper than private ones, have moved out of reach of many young fresh graduates planning to get married and settle down. With affluent foreign PRs joining in the rush – some for profits – resale prices of HDB apartments have increased by some 45% in the last few years. The government, which usually plans ahead, is finding itself in hot soup for being under-prepared by the explosive demand. An indication of this: In 2008, HDB built only 3,183 new flats when there were over 90,000 PRs and 20,000 new citizens in the same year, according to official statistics. Only Singaporeans – not foreigners or PRs – are allowed to buy new government flats, which are generally well designed and planned. Because of the long waiting time, however, many Singaporeans opt to pay more for resale units in the open market, where they run into competition from PR buyers. Some commentators feel it is unfair just to blame the HDB, since the problem covers a wide range of population, immigration as well as manpower policies that involves the entire government and not just public housing. The top leadership has drawn up plans and an overall strategy for a 6.5 million population without fixing a time-frame. But with public unhappiness rising over the perceived costs, over-crowdedness, rising prices, the immigration inflow is being slowed down. “This probably means that if the authorities want to stick to its 6.5 million population, it will have to take a longer time – probably more than 20 years,” one business executive commented. The public housing crisis has revived a question whether Singapore, with only 700 sq km of land, can continue to accommodate the current five million residents, let alone increase it by a further one-third. The high density may already have affected some quarters overseas. Read rest of the article here  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Stung by rising concerns among Singaporeans that they are being priced out of the public housing market by astronomical prices, the propaganda machinery of the ruling party has gone on an overdrive again to "reassure" them that HDB flats are really still "affordable". The Straits Times published a lengthy commentary today to compare the housing situation in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Sydney to derive at the conclusion that "in terms of affordability, Singapore has achieved a lower housing price to income ratio." and "on the whole, the figures reveal that the housing system here does deliver comfortable and affordable housing to the majority of Singaporeans." It is most disingenuous of the Straits Times to compared public housing in Singapore with private housing elsewhere - of course the prices in Singapore will appear to be lower! The writers should compare the housing price to income ratio of public housing in Hong Kong, Sydney and London with that of Singapore instead. It furthers perpetuate the pervasive public misconception that Singaporeans really "own" their flats. "......by 1964, it was decided that home ownership was a better strategy as it was thought that citizens would be more likely to sink their roots in the country if they owned a stake in it.....By the late 1970s, when many welfare countries were starting to revamp their public housing systems due to economic reasons, public home ownership was thriving in Singapore because of the development of the resale market for public housing." [Source: Straits Times, 27 February 2010] The high rate of “home ownership” in Singapore has been used repeatedly by the ruling party to trumpet its own “accomplishments”. In reality, Singaporeans are only leasing the flats from HDB for a period of 99 years. When one buys a private condominium, one has to sign a “Sales and Purchase” agreement from the developer. However, in the case of Build-to-Order flats, the agreement is termed as “Agreement for Lease” which essentially means that one is leasing the flat from HDB. (read more here) Lastly, it is debatable if Singapore's public housing system really deliver "comfortable and affordable housing to the majority of Singaporeans." The writers should pay a visit to some of the older estates like Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah and Queenstown to witness for themselves the living conditions there. The article is right on only one count: HDB is the dominant provider of housing in Singapore which enables it to crowd out smaller players in the private sector and sets prices as it wishes regardless of the market. As over 85 per cent of Singapore's population lives in HDB flats, the ruling party's control over public housing gives it leverage over the citizens which it uses cleverly to perpetuate its political hegemony by threatening voters during elections that it will withdraw funds for estate upgrading and maintenance should they vote for the opposition. Related articles: >> Why HDB is unable to reveal break down costs of new flats now >> HDB blames Singaporeans for not selecting flats when given the chance >> Singaporeans worried about retirement after depleting CPF to pay for over-priced HDB flats >> Mah Bow Tan acknowledged that rising HDB flat prices has sparked “fresh concerns” >> PM Lee: Govt does not have control over prices of resale flats” >> COVs of resale flats shooting through the roof >> HDB resale price index hit record high in 2009 >> Singaporean wants PRs to live in rented flats instead of buying resale flats >> Singaporeans wants PRs to be banned from selling HDB flats at a profit >> Shanmugam: Singaporeans likely culprits for driving up HDB flat prices >> Mah Bow Tan: HDB flats remain affordable >> Means testing for PRs to buy resale flats >> Immigration and public housing: should the govt or people plan ahead? >> Grace Fu: hard to predict demand for housing >> Indonesian PR bought 4-room flat at $653,000 >> Mah Bow Tan asks home buyers to be realistic >> PAP MP blames young couples who cannot get a flat for not planning ahead >> Home affordability: HDB versus the public >> Demand vs supply: so many applicants, so few flats >> Number of applicants exceed number of flats >> HDB to increase supply of flats >> Mah: don’t compare with prices in the past >> ERA: 40 per cent of HDB flat buyers are PRs  Read More →

By Neil Gough from South China Morning Post What happens in Vegas may indeed stay in Vegas, but the fortunes of America's Sin City are becoming increasingly dependent on what happens in mainland China. The Las Vegas Strip finally showed signs of a turnaround late last year, snapping an unprecedented 22-month losing streak that saw casino revenues decline to their 2004 levels despite the addition of tens of thousands of new hotel rooms in the US gaming capital. But a closer look at the numbers shows that the tentative recovery has so far been one-dimensional, and it appears to be coming from an unexpected source: China. High-rolling baccarat players flown in from the mainland, which is awash in cash, appear to have single-handedly driven the recent turnaround in Vegas. Las Vegas Strip baccarat revenue - considered by analysts to be a proxy measure for high-stakes Chinese play - rose 26.5 per cent last year and 100 per cent in the fourth quarter. By contrast, revenue from Americans' beloved slot machines and all other casino games contracted 14.6 per cent last year and 11 per cent in the December quarter. That non-baccarat downtrend continues, as the strip's usual core clientele of domestic holidaymakers and corporate conventioneers are still reeling from the effects of the financial crisis. US unemployment remains high, many business travel budgets are still tight and consumer spending is unlikely to return ton its credit-fuelled binge levels any time soon. "Baccarat gains are likely a function of inbound play from China, where high-rollers have enjoyed the benefit of material real estate and stock market gains in 2009," says Bill Lerner, a Las Vegas-based analyst at Union Gaming Group. He said several major high-end strip casinos were prompted to increase betting limits by 30 per cent, to US$300,000 per hand, during this month's Lunar New Year holiday. Vegas has been courting high-rollers from Asia for at least the past three decades, particularly during Lunar New Year, but since the opening of Macau's casino market to US operators such as Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands and MGM Mirage, the competition for China's gambling dollars on both sides of the Pacific Ocean has increased greatly. Read rest of article on SCMP  Read More →