Big Read
The Big Read: Everyone wants a dream home — what does that mean in land-scarce Singapore?
ADVERTISEMENT
The Big Read: Everyone wants a dream home — what does that mean in land-scarce Singapore?
Nurjannah Suhaimi/TODAY
Meeting Singaporeans' housing needs and aspirations is a perennial concern, with the topic being aired in Parliament from time to time. Outside of Parliament, it is also a common topic of discussion among Singaporeans
Follow us on
TikTok and
Instagram, and join our
Telegram channel for the latest updates.
This article is written in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information in support of Forward Singapore.
- Over the past few decades, it is not only property prices that have risen in tandem with Singapore's rapid economic growth — housing expectations and aspirations of the younger generations have gone up too
- Some of these today include owning a private property in one's lifetime, being able to afford a bigger flat in a good location and having more options for singles
- Meeting Singaporeans' housing needs and aspirations is a perennial concern, with the topic being aired in Parliament from time to time. Outside of Parliament, it is also a common topic of discussion among Singaporeans
- What is less talked about, however, are the trade-offs involved when a land-scarce city-state measuring 719 sq km seeks to meet the housing needs and aspirations of over four million residents
- TODAY examines some of these trade-offs
BY
TAUFIQ ZALIZAN
Published November 17, 2023
Updated November 19, 2023
SINGAPORE — When Mr J Parasuraman and his wife moved out of his parents’ three-room flat and bought his first house in 1986 from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) at the age of 29, there was only one thing on their minds: To have more living space.
“Even though there were only the two of us at that time, we knew we would be having kids. So, we decided to go for the executive maisonette,” said the 67-year-old executive director and consultant of a financial advisory firm.
ADVERTISEMENT
He forked out about S$111,000 — a sizeable sum back then — to get his dream home in Hougang. Today, his unit can fetch between S$830,000 and S$1.2 million on the resale market, based on the listings of similar maisonettes in Hougang.
Almost four decades on, it is not only property prices that have risen in tandem with Singapore's rapid economic growth — housing expectations and aspirations of the younger generations have gone up too.
Take 25-year-old entrepreneur Lhu Wen Kai for example. He moved out of his parents’ flat in 2021 and had rented a one-room condominium because he wanted more personal space.
READ ALSO
A few weeks ago, he returned to living with his parents, as the rent has gone up too much. Having had a taste of living in a private property, he said he is unlikely to buy a public flat in future if he were to get a place of his own.
He added that if the prices of private properties are out of reach, he would move to a neighbouring country to "fulfill my private housing dream".
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Mr Lhu is not alone in having the aspiration of owning a private property.
The latest edition of the TODAY Youth Survey found that
eight in 10 youths said owning a private property is one of their life goals, and six in 10 expect to be better off than their parents in terms of housing.
The TODAY Youth Survey 2023, which was conducted in August, polled 1,000 respondents aged between 18 and 35.
This was the third edition of the annual survey and it looked at youths’ views on housing, the importance of a university degree, career development, the gap between blue collar and white collar wages, and civic participation. The findings were published last month.
Raj Nadarajan/TODAYThe latest edition of the TODAY Youth Survey found that eight in 10 youths said owning a private property is one of their life goals, and six in 10 expect to be better off than their parents in terms of housing.
READ ALSO
On youths' housing aspirations, economist Song Seng Wun noted that these were part and parcel of a society becoming more affluent. While Singapore's economic growth has moderated in recent years as its economy matures, median household income has grown by 33 per cent in the past decade based on latest public statistics — from S$7,566 in 2012 to S$10,099 in 2022.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The needs and the basic things may differ as economic development generates employment opportunities to allow people to aspire towards higher minimum basic needs,” said Mr Song, who is an economic adviser at financial service provider CGS-CIMB.
When the push for home ownership began during the early years of nation-building in the 1960s, the majority moved to affordable public housing, said Mr Song.
Today, while public housing ownership is still high — about eight in 10 Singapore residents live in public housing — the proportion has been on an overall downward trend over the last decade.
Based on data from the Singapore Department of Statistics, about 81.6 per cent of residents live in public housing in 2012. The proportion dropped to about 79.0 per cent in 2017. Last year, it fell further to about 77.9 per cent.
“More people, even first timers, can afford private housing as their first home”, Mr Song noted.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
READ ALSO
On its part, the Government has continuously sought to meet the rising expectations including by raising the standard of public housing and surrounding amenities, while
keeping flats affordable using benchmarks such as home price-to-income ratios and the proportion of monthly income that buyers use to service mortgage instalment payments, which remain lower compared to international benchmarks.
Meeting Singaporeans' housing needs and aspirations is a perennial concern, with the topic being aired in Parliament from time to time. Outside of Parliament, it is also a common topic of discussion, be it in the coffeeshops, on internet forums or social media.
What's less talked about, however, are the trade-offs involved when a land-scarce city-state measuring 719 sq km seeks to meet the housing needs and aspirations of over four million residents (out of a total population of 5.92 million).
Given Singapore’s limited land space and constraints as a city-state, some trade-offs are inevitable, economists and property analysts reiterated.
For example, to set aside more land for private property development would mean less supply for public homes. And while a suppressed resale market may be a boon for potential buyers, it would mean the assets of existing homeowners cannot appreciate — which may even impact their retirement plans given that Singaporeans typically fund their homes using their Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings.
“You can have aspirations but (homeowners) must also be aware that there is always a price to be paid," said Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property technology company Mogul.sg.
READ ALSO
TODAY examines some of these trade-offs:
WHY CAN’T WE HAVE BIGGER, MORE AFFORDABLE HOMES?
Communications undergraduate Sherlyn Tan, who has twice applied unsuccessfully for a Build-to-Order (BTO) flat, noted that the five-room flat in Bedok that her parents bought in the late 1990s cost S$300,000 back then.
Today, a five-room BTO flat in the same area was priced at up to S$737,000 in a recent launch. “I grew up in Bedok and I'm afraid that I might not be able to afford to live near my parents with rising costs and all,” said the 23-year-old.
For 35-year-old Zakiah Fatin Saiful Imran, who just gave birth to her third child a few months ago, moving from her current four-room BTO to a bigger house in the future was very much on their minds.
“The main reason we would move is to get more space. And you will only get that in a resale flat, because BTOs today are pretty much all the same size,” said the technical support engineer, who also noted that not all BTO projects have five-room flats for sale.
The sizes of HDB flats have not changed since 1997, while average household sizes have decreased, the Ministry of National Development said in April last year.
READ ALSO
“Given Singapore’s land constraints, HDB has to strike a balance between the size of HDB flats and the supply of flats,” said the ministry, in response to a parliamentary question on whether the Government would consider increasing the average size of HDB flats.