Pain points experienced by young/1st-time home-seekers like me

10 October 2022

finally had time to read this. not exactly a fan of Ben Leong, but this time, i think he nailed almost every pain points experienced by young/1st-time home-seekers like me. i hope HDB & MND gives a decent & transparent reply to the points he raised.

tbh many of the current housing policies are flawed & obsolete, building up to the current problem that we are facing now. for example:
(1) is BTO still relevant today when demand way exceed supply? (the $10 entry price is also too cheap for non-serious buyers to try their luck);
(2) classification of "mature/non-mature" towns is not updated since 1990s (how the hell is Hougang, Jurong East, Yishun still considered non-mature in today's context, while Bidadari is mature?);
(3) discriminating & unfair housing policies for singles (society is changing, many singles remain single not by choice, current policies disallow singles to buy 2-room BTO near parents who live in mature towns);
(4) definition of "affordability" (20%-30% of monthly salary to service home mortgages is not affordable to most laymen);
(5) allowing HDB owners to own private properties concurrently;
(6) housing policies for foreigners (main culprit driving the property prices up, shld not allow foreigners to buy property outside Sentosa Cove); etc.

to make things worst, many of the explanations by the G so far just doesnt tie-up nicely, leaving more doubts & angsts. HDB really needs to return to basic & review its original mission of providing affordable public housing for Singaporeans. if not, it will become quite impossible for an average Singaporean to buy a 4-room flat in the very near future.

The housing market is obviously under supply & out of control when HDB website keeps hanging before it hits 12mn & all the "Open Booking" units are gone within 15min. annoying max. 🤬

Response to "On Tone-Deafness and the Danger of the House Burning Down :-(" by Ben Leong (original article at https://benlwl.medium.com/on-tone-deafness-and-the-danger-of-the-house-burning-down-b1caceb3e492).

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