Written by Ng E-Jay
The ST letter “How HDB keeps it affordable” (31 Aug 2009) penned by Mr Ignatius Lourdesamy, Deputy Director (Marketing & Projects) of HDB, overlooked several critical issues and failed miserably in its attempt to refute claims that public housing has become too expensive for Singaporeans.
Mr Lourdesamy was responding to earlier queries regarding the proliferation of housing agents and sellers demanding exorbitant “Cash Over Valuation” amounts that in effect corner an already tight property market and cause hardship to families purchashing resale HDB flats.
He was also trying to address issues raised by other ST readers who highlighted the fact that public housing has become too highly correlated with private property prices, as exemplified by the HDB resale price index which has surged 35% over the past two years despite the downturn and now stands at an all time high.
In particular, Mr Chew Kim Cheer argued in his ST letter “Squeezed even harder” (22 Aug 2009) that the Government needs to increase supply to prevent property prices from escalating out of control. Mr Chew also urged the Government to review the $8,000 household income ceiling as an eligibility criterion to qualify for subsidized public housing and a discounted HDB loan. Continue reading
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