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I refer to the letter “People should be free to decide what a flat is worth: HDB” dated 14th Sept 2009. HDB claims to be responsible for sustaining flat prices over the long term. Looking at resale flat prices from 1990 to the present, sustenance of flat prices hardly needs worrying about as...

I refer to the letter “How family’s fortunes have grown over the years” by Ms Mabel Tan dated 26 Sept 2009. Ms Tan’s bemusement is understandable. She is bemused because she and her family are totally unencumbered by the recent sharp increases in property prices. Like the person watching a...

I refer to the letter “Why we peg to market rates” published in Today on 25 Sept 2009. Mr Lourdesamy wrote that the HDB incurred an average deficit of $1,045 million a year on home ownership programmes. However, if we refer to Page120 of HDB’s 2008 annual report, $625,102,000 was spent on...

I refer to the Straits Times report “Mah: Make meaningful comparisons” dated 2 Oct 2009. Mr Mah reportedly said that it is “not meaningful” to compare prices of flats today with those 20 years ago because that would mean going back 20 years. But MM Lee said in a speech on 12 Sept 1965...

I refer to the Straits Times editorial “Watching HDB price behaviour, sensibly” dated 23 Sept 2009. The writer wonders why buyers don’t exercise their democratic right to avoid paying a premium by looking at towns less “prime”. Because towns less “prime” aren’t exactly cheap either. The...

I refer to the Straits Times report “Hard to get that first flat? Not so” dated 8 Oct 2009. Mr Mah reportedly said that some of the assertions made by home seekers are “not entirely truthful”. According to Mr Mah, it is not that buyers aren’t getting their flats but rather buyers have gotten...

I refer to the Straits Times article “Singapore cheaper than Stockholm” dated 26 Sept 2009 which featured Mr Mikael Huss from Stockholm telling us how much cheaper Singapore is compared to Stockholm. Mr Huss vouched that back in Stockholm, it is nearly impossible for a household to survive on...

I refer to the letter “HDB deserves praise” dated 10 Oct 2009. In his letter, Dr Lee urged Singaporeans to be thankful and to not forget what HDB has done for us. But the gargantuan problem Dr Lee refererred to occurred four decades ago. Why should we continue to pay tribute to an...

I refer to the Straits Times report “The great public housing debate” dated 17 Oct 2009. PRs In her report, Ms Tan concluded that the PR effect on resale flat price is not strong because only one in five resale flats are bought by PRs. There were a total of 30,928 resale flat transactions...