Desmond Lee
Singapore
“The Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation and Service (LEAPS) 2.0 is a framework for recognising student participation and achievement in secondary school co-curricular programmes.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) is mindful of the impact that rising temperatures may have on our students, teachers and officials taking part in the National School Games. Matches are scheduled only after students have had the time to train and become progressively more heat acclimatised.”
“As shared in Parliament in March 2026, the proportion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools has remained stable, at around 7% of the overall student population. This stability is observed across both primary and secondary schools.”
“The Ministry recruits and assesses applicants based on merit and suitability for the teaching profession, regardless of gender. We look for individuals with a passion for teaching, a belief in the potential of every child, and who possess the values and character to make a positive difference in students' lives.”
“Over the past five years, an average of 750 teachers resigned from the Education Service annually, representing a resignation rate of around 2%.”
“MOE has also progressively strengthened open access within the Primary 1 Registration Framework through Phase 2C, which is open to students regardless of whether they have prior connections to the school. MOE had increased the number of reserved Phase 2C places from zero to 20 in 2014; and from 20 to 40 in 2022.”
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Every one of 3,698 lines we hold for Desmond Lee, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 31 of 74.
“Sir, may I take Question Nos 13 and 14 together?”
“The MOP is intended to reinforce the owner occupation intent for public housing. Whether it is five or 10 years or somewhere in between, we have to strike a balance because, ultimately, there is a minimum period where you need to occupy your flats. And then, people's life stages may change. With children on the way, they may need more space, they may need to move closer to a school or they may have other arrangements. So, when people need to sell their flats within MOP, generally, we do not waive, but we do look at individual requests on a case-by-case basis to understand the circumstances they face in deciding whether to grant the waiver of MOP or not. And, in fact, that will, in a way, serve to cater to the groups of people who need to move during that period. But whether we will do so in order to increase the supply of resale flats in the market, I am not quite so sure. When you shorten the MOP, you may see that there will then be demand in other parts of the market.”
“I think the Member has asked a question which is actually further down the line. But, since he has already asked it, I am just wondering whether to wait till then or give him a sneak peek into the answer I am going to give him. Since August 2021, 1,930 families were eligible for PPHS and had applied for the scheme. About 580 of them were invited to select a PPHS flat, of whom about 330 selected and were allocated such a flat and 250 did not select a flat when invited to do so, which suggests that they did not like the options that were made available to them or they had other housing options. The remaining 1,350 applicants were unsuccessful in their ballot. Both prior to the imposition of the income ceiling and the other measures and, even now, with the measures in place, on average, we see about 47% of PPHS applicants who decided not to make a selection when they are invited to do so. But, of course, that means others further down the queue will then be invited and that ensures that the flats are occupied.”
“And during the pandemic and emerging from COVID-19, HDB continues to work very closely with our contractors, helping them to obtain the manpower that is necessary, helping them to stabilise prices of steel and concrete through HDB's schemes to support the contractors, and working very hard with our local supply chain to ensure greater domestic resilience, whether by stockpiling offsite, stockpiling in Singapore or working more closely with our prefabrication plants to have the capability to churn out more components for HDB flats. Through standardisation and good design, we can achieve that. Recently, in the HDB awards, I announced more efforts by HDB to try out new methods of construction that will allow it to drive even greater productivity and, hence, be more resilient to supply chain disruptions that may come in the future. As for the Member's question about the percentage of shorter waiting times for flats, as I have said earlier, we have delivered 7,200 over the last two years. There has been an impact because BTO demand has been high and also because there have been disruptions to construction. And we work hard to raise the quantum of shorter waiting time flats even as we continue to grapple with the after-effects of COVID-19.”
“I thank the Member for her questions. HDB's mission remains the same even through COVID-19 and even as we continue to deal with the after-effects on the construction sector and on development of properties in general arising from the last two years' pandemic. In fact, to ensure affordability and accessibility, we have been doing a couple of things. Firstly, by increasing subsidies to ensure that BTO flat prices remain stable, even amidst the property price increases across the board. Secondly, we have been ramping up the supply of flats, as mentioned, the ramp-up of BTO supply between 2021 and 2025 of 100,000 flats, if necessary. Thirdly, in August this year, we channelled an even greater percentage of the BTO stock towards first-timer home buyers. We have also put in property cooling measures to moderate demand in the resale market. Lastly, of course, is tackling the issue of construction delays. HDB has been working very closely with the contractors and their supply chain to manage overall construction delays and there has been progress made on that front. We need to expedite construction, but will do so safely and without compromising the quality of flats. The Member alluded to supply chain disruptions. In fact, in the last two years, HDB and all developers and contractors have been affected by supply chain disruptions because a lot of materials come from abroad – construction material, parts and even manpower to help us construct.”
“We have been using some of the SERS units, some of the unsold units, we have also taken some rental flats – and you see there is a trade-off there – we have also taken over staff apartments from the Polytechnics and repurposed them for PPHS during this period. So, to provide support for those who may have even greater difficulty affording rental in the interim, we maintain the income ceiling as well as the priority for married couples with children below the age of 18.”
“Mr Speaker, the Member asked for a "Build-then-Order" model. In fact, I have just described the shorter waiting time model which has been in place since 2018, where we launch construction and then launch the project. So, as a result, applicants can get their flat under three years. The construction disruptions and delays during COVID-19 had affected some of that pipeline. Nevertheless, as I have said, even during COVID-19, we launched some 7,200 shorter waiting time flats from 2020 to 2022. We will work towards launching more of such shorter waiting time flats, with waiting times of three years or less, subject to site and infrastructure readiness. That is something we are committed to do. But in addition to that, we have the Sale of Balance Flats exercise and the Open Booking of Flats exercise by HDB, and, of course, resale flats, which are available with grants for eligible buyers. And at this point in time, while resale prices have gone up, with measures to moderate demand, we hope to manage the price increases in the resale market as well to ensure affordability for first-time home buyers. As for the Member's request to raise or remove the income ceiling for PPHS, I have explained earlier why we need to maintain this for the time being. Demand has been high, particularly because of the construction delays caused by COVID-19. We recognise that there are housing needs – HDB is prepared, even if the income ceiling is above $7,000, to look at individual circumstances to see how we can help them. We will double the supply of PPHS flats by the end of this year and early next year. But supply remains limited.”
“While we are on track to double the supply of interim flats for PPHS between 2021 and 2023, the supply remains limited. As such, we will retain the income ceiling so as to continue prioritising those who are less able to afford renting on the open market. Households whose incomes exceed the $7,000 ceiling but who need help with temporary housing due to exceptional circumstances, such as high medical expenses or other needs, may approach HDB. HDB will consider their requests on a case-by-case basis.”
“Thank you, Sir. Since 2018, HDB has been offering BTO flats in some projects with shorter waiting times of around three years or less. This is achieved by bringing forward the construction works for specific sites that are ready for development. To date, close to 11,000 BTO flats with shorter waiting times have been offered, of which around 7,200 were offered between 2020 and 2022, that is, during the pandemic. The pipeline of shorter waiting time flats has been impacted during the pandemic due to construction delays and disruptions as well as higher BTO demand. To meet the strong housing demand, HDB has ramped up the supply of BTO flats to 23,000 flats per year in 2022 and 2023, or a 35% increase from last year, and is also prepared to launch up to 100,000 new flats from 2021 to 2025, if needed. Where possible, we also endeavour to launch more BTO projects with shorter waiting times, subject to site and infrastructure readiness. While waiting for the completion of their new flats, most flat buyers continue to stay with family members or relatives, or rent on the open market. The Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) provides an additional temporary housing option for eligible households. Given the limited supply of PPHS flats, the income ceiling of $7,000 was introduced in August 2021, along with some other criteria, to prioritise those who are less able to afford renting on the open market. The income ceiling of $7,000 is pegged to the typical income ceiling for 3-room BTO flats in the non-mature estates. It is also well above the median monthly household income of PPHS applicants, which was $5,700 before the income ceiling was introduced and $4,400 in the past year since the income ceiling was put in place.”
“Mr Speaker, may I take Question Nos 7 and 8 on today's Order Paper together, as both relate to Build-to-Order (BTO) flats with shorter waiting times?”
“Certainly, those who own an existing private property and intend to wait out that period would find alternative accommodation, either to reside with family or rent. So, there will be those choices that will have to be made because of the implementation of this new measure. At the same time, it may also cause private property owners who are not seniors waiting to retire or, as Member Dennis Tan had mentioned, people who have financial situation. If they are thinking about whether to make this move now, this might cause them to postpone their decision. It achieves the effect also of moderating demand for resale flats at this time and gives priority to first-time home buyers who may be looking to the resale market for their first home.”
“Indeed, this group of Singaporeans who are affected financially can approach HDB. As I said, there are two exemption measures. One would be for seniors, the other would be for any Singaporeans with extenuating circumstances, regardless of age. They can approach HDB and we will see how to help them. So, if the Member has come across any of them, please let us know.”
“With the concern or the potential for higher interest rates in the medium term, MAS and HDB, therefore, took precautionary measures of a macroprudential nature by increasing, for MAS, the private financial institution rate floor ceiling for the taking of housing loans for residential housing and for HDB to institute a 3% floor for HDB loans. And, of course, we adjusted the loan-to-value, in order to protect home buyers who need to leverage and take loans in order to buy. But there is also an impact on existing home owners who were servicing their loans. Some of them are on fixed interest rates and the banks have mostly stopped these fixed interest rate plans for residential properties. Then, the groups that are on adjustable interest rate loans, some come with a time lag, some follow the market and market interest rates immediately and some take HDB loans. For HDB, the interest rate remains at 2.6%. So, obviously, for these different groups, they will feel the impact either at different times or immediately. And, therefore, this will impact the groups differently. In terms of their outlay, they will have to stump up more in order to service their monthly mortgages.”
“I thank the Member for the two supplementary questions. The Member was concerned whether this wait-out period, which aims to moderate demand for resale flats by putting a wait-out period for private property owners coming into the resale market through the wait-out period; his concern is whether that would potentially reduce the supply of private properties on the private resale market and, hence, cause HDB upgraders who are actually wanting to buy those units, to then buy a bigger HDB resale flat and then exacerbating the condition. HDB upgraders, firstly, I think, some of them will have an intention to upgrade from HDB to private property. So, that is first. You cannot rule out that some HDB upgraders will, of course, want to upgrade to a larger HDB flat. So, every HDB upgrader will have their own objectives and their own aspirations. But be that as it may, HDB upgraders will continue to have a wide range of options, which include HDB flats of varying sizes and across various locations, as well as new and existing private properties. As I have said earlier, the Government has also ramped up the supply of new BTO flats and increased the supply of private housing on both the confirmed list as well as the GLS programme by some 75%, from 3,600 units last year to 6,300 this year, and we will continue to see whether we may need to make some adjustments if needed. The Member also asked whether the higher interest rate environment will have a differential impact on different groups. Certainly.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as I said earlier, the intention of this wait-out period is to moderate demand from those who are existing or former private property owners. The private property market has gone up, an increasing number appear to have sold their private properties and to move into HDB flats. For seniors, we recognise that many of them want to do this in order to enhance their retirement adequacy – they want to right-size, they want to manage their financial situation as they go into retirement. So, we made this carve-out for our seniors. And as for why it is a 4-room flat and smaller, if your aim is to prepare for retirement and to enhance your retirement adequacy, then going to a smaller flat will give our seniors even more financial space, as they right-size from a private property to a smaller flat. As I have said earlier, the private property owners or former private property owners moving into the HDB resale market make up about one in 10 of resale flat buyers over the last three years and, out of that group, seniors make up a smaller portion of that. So, three in 10 of that one in 10 are seniors above the age of 55 and, so, they are a smaller subset of the private property owners moving into the HDB resale market. Therefore, we will continue to watch and monitor the property market carefully and monitor the effects of the moves that we have made.”
“As I explained earlier, the aim of this move is to moderate demand from private property owners cashing out and going to the HDB resale market, in order to give priority to first time home buyers, particularly during this period. We will, however, consider the prevailing economic and market conditions, including the impact of the 15-month wait-out period, as we plan our half-yearly Government Land Sale (GLS) supply for private housing. We have already increased the supply of private housing on the confirmed list of the GLS programme by 75%, from about 3,600 units in 2021, to around 6,300 units in 2022. We are prepared to increase the GLS supply further if needed. The Government will continue to monitor the housing market conditions and act decisively, but also carefully, to ensure the stability of the wider Singapore property market and to keep public housing inclusive, affordable and accessible to Singaporeans.”
“Indeed, we recognise that not all private property owners are in exactly the same situation and not all have the same financial means. And that is why, to support this group, we had introduced two measures when we made this move to introduce the new wait-out period. First, we exempted seniors who are moving from private property to a 4-room or smaller resale flat from the wait-out period, if both the senior and his spouse are 55 years old and above. This helps our seniors right-size their homes and improve their retirement adequacy. These seniors make up about three in 10 of the private property owners who had bought resale HDB flats in the past three years. Of these seniors, slightly less than one in five also paid a COV when buying a resale flat. So, that is the first – the exemption for seniors. Second, regardless of their age, current and former private property owners who face extenuating circumstances can approach HDB for assistance and we will assess their situation on a case-by-case basis. Pursuant to this, HDB received some 650 appeals since the wait-out period was introduced. Two hundred and twenty of these home seekers had obtained an Option to Purchase (OTP) to buy an HDB resale flat before the wait-out period was put in place. For these home seekers, HDB has exercised flexibility and waived the 15-month wait-out period for all of them. A second group of home seekers are those who have not obtained an OTP to buy an HDB resale flat, but who may have committed to sell or have recently sold their existing private property. HDB will assess these appeals on a case-by-case basis. Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about the possible impact of this move on the HDB resale market.”
“The 15-month wait-out period is a temporary measure to moderate demand for resale flats and help to prioritise access to affordable public housing for Singaporeans with more urgent housing needs, such as first-time home buyers. We will review this measure after monitoring overall demand and market conditions. To be clear, the 15-month wait-out period is a new measure for those buying resale flats without grant. There is an existing long-standing measure for private property owners buying HDB resale flats with grant, and they have to wait out 30 months. This measure, the long-standing measure, has been in place since 1975. Members have asked about the number of private property owners who may be affected by this new wait-out period. The number of private property owners buying HDB resale flats has doubled in 2021 and the first three quarters of this year, compared to 2019 and 2020. This group, which includes those who had sold their private property up to 15 months before their resale flat application, accounts for about one in 10 resale flat buyers in the past three years. Proportionately, more current and former private property owners pay COV, or Cash-Over-Valuation, compared to other resale flat buyers, and they also pay higher COV amounts. This is, generally, because many of these private property owners have more financial means to pay for their resale flats, compared to first-time flat buyers or HDB upgraders. Some may not even need to take housing loans to complete their flat purchase. Mr Alex Yam asked about the assistance provided to home seekers who own or have recently disposed of, their private property, but who urgently need housing support.”
“Thank you, Sir. Mr Speaker, the public housing market has been buoyant since the first quarter of 2020. The HDB resale price index, or RPI, had declined by 9.9% over five years, between 2014 and 2018, and remained flat in 2019. The increase in resale HDB flat prices during the last two years of the pandemic reflects broad-based demand for housing, supported by the previously low interest rate environment. In December 2021, the Government announced a package of measures to cool the private residential and HDB resale markets, including tightening the loan-to-value, or LTV limit, for loans from HDB. In the immediate quarters, following the implementation of these measures, the HDB resale price index reflected a lower increase of 2.4% in 1Q2022, and 2.8% in 2Q2022, compared to 3.4% in 4Q2021. The Government has been watching the property market closely. Sustained property price increases, if left unchecked, could run ahead of our economic fundamentals and increase the risk of a destabilising correction later, which will adversely impact many existing home owners. On 29 September 2022, HDB announced further measures to, first, encourage home buyers to exercise greater financial prudence when taking home loans, as higher interest rates were expected over the medium term; and second, to moderate demand in the HDB resale market. We expect these measures to slow the pace of HDB resale price increases, but we will continue to monitor the housing market closely. One of the measures that we have implemented is the 15-month wait-out period before current and former private residential property owners can buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat, that means, without taking the CPF housing grant. Mr Alex Yam asked how this measure will help to cool the HDB resale market.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Mr Alex Yam and Ms Nadia Samdin asked the questions about the impact of recent cooling measures. Mr Saktiandi Supaat1 had also asked a related question for the Sitting on or after 21 October 2022. So, with your permission, Sir, may I take these three questions together?”
“Beyond the business impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there is a need to undertake deeper measures to help our shops remain competitive and relevant to customers and the community. Firstly, under the Revitalisation of Shops scheme (ROS), HDB provides co-funding to help retailers upgrade their shopping environment or carry out promotional events to attract crowds. HDB is currently reviewing how it can further improve this scheme, to enhance its attractiveness and increase the take up rates. More details will be announced in the coming months. Secondly, as announced during Committee of Supply 2022, HDB partnered Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) to launch Our Heartlands 2025 programme. Over the next four years, up to $50 million will be set aside to support heartland shops, (i) continuing to deepen digitalisation and manpower capabilities; (ii) enhancing liveliness of shopfronts and supporting events to draw footfall; and (iii) upgrading capabilities of Trades Associations and Chambers to better support heartland shops. Finally, HDB has also partnered with EnterpriseSG and the Prime Minister's Office to undertake the Heartlands Shops Study, which is a study on the social and economic value of heartland shops for various stakeholders such as residents, business owners and merchant associations. Over 2,800 stakeholders were engaged through the study to gather feedback and ideas on how to increase vibrancy, inclusiveness and heritage in our heartland shops. We will reference the views and study new measures to further enhance the vibrancy and relevance of heartland shops.”
“HDB shops not only provide residents with convenient access to essential goods and services, but also serve as a social node for residents to mingle and enhance the vibrancy of HDB communities. HDB shops are well-patronised by our residents and overall vacancy rate for HDB shops remains low. Nevertheless, our heartland shops do face challenges given changing consumer habits and preferences, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the important role the heartland shops play in our HDB estates, the Government has put in place various short- and medium-term measures to tide them through difficult periods and to help them transform for the future. In the past one to two years, the Heartland Digitalisation and Revitalisation Committee (HDRC), co-chaired by Senior Minister of State Sim Ann and Minister of State Low Yen Ling, supported heartland merchants in advancing their digitalisation efforts and growing their revenue streams. The HDRC worked with agencies to introduce initiatives such as Heartlands Go Digital to accelerate the adoption of digital solutions and Visual Merchandising to improve heartland shopfront aesthetics to attract customers. Events were also organised to attract footfall. For example, the three-month long Heartlands Festival, which commenced in November 2021, resulted in 20% more footfall in participating precincts and up to 30% more revenue among some shops. Support packages such as rental waivers for our HDB merchants and Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers were also given out to Singaporean households to use at participating hawkers and heartland merchants.”
“The last batch of Revitalisation of Shops (ROS) sites announced in 2016 comprised 13 town and neighbourhood centres that applied for co-funding for upgrading of common areas, of which five eventually proceeded with upgrading. The upgrading works for these five sites, comprising around 270 shops, were progressively completed between 2019 and 2021. Since then, we have not announced any new ROS batch as HDB is reviewing the scheme. As part of this review, we conducted Focus Group Discussions with key stakeholders like Merchants' Associations and shop owners over 2021 to 2022 to gather feedback on how the ROS scheme can be improved. The feedback from these sessions has been useful in shaping some of the enhancements that we are considering for the scheme, which could translate to higher participation from shops. For instance, some participants had shared that the current ROS requirement to obtain 100% support from benefiting shop owners means that upgrading works cannot proceed if a small number of shop owners oppose the upgrading, even if the majority are in support. We are currently firming up the details of the ROS enhancements and will be sharing more details in the coming months.”
“HDB works closely with the relevant Ministries and Government agencies, such as MOH, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), MSF and the People's Association (PA), to plan and provide Social Communal Facilities (SCFs), including childcare and eldercare facilities, in new public housing developments. To provide opportunities for intergenerational bonding and greater convenience for our residents to meet the care needs of both the young and old, HDB co-locates the childcare and eldercare facilities where possible, such as in the multi-storey carparks or standalone community facilities buildings of new Build-To-Order (BTO) developments. Together with the various agencies, HDB and URA also explore co-locating various SCFs and other facilities within a single complex. One such example is Kampung Admiralty, which integrates housing for the elderly with an Active Ageing Hub and childcare centre, as well as other healthcare, commercial and community facilities. We will continue to explore such co-location opportunities, taking into consideration the local context and needs, availability of a suitable location, and the timelines and funding availabilities of the various co-locating agencies. Going forward, as part of HDB's recently launched "Designing For Life" roadmap, more childcare and eldercare facilities will also be located close to precinct facilities like three-generation playgrounds to facilitate inter-generational bonding and interaction.”
“Should NParks receive feedback on a monkey-related attack or injury, we will also assist the affected individual where we can. NParks will continue to partner key stakeholders on its public engagement and outreach programmes. These include talks at preschools and childcare facilities near hotspots, engagement sessions in neighbourhoods and public webinars. Through these science-based programmes, residents can learn how to recognise the different facial expressions of monkeys, better understand their behaviour and respond to them safely. All of us have a part to play in minimising wildlife intrusions and keeping our community safe. We can do this by refraining from feeding wildlife, keeping our residential areas clean and appreciating wildlife from a safe distance.”
“We adopt a community- and science-based approach to managing the monkey population in Singapore. As part of these efforts, NParks closely monitors the geographical distribution of monkey-related feedback, taking into consideration their proximity to places such as residential homes, nursing homes and childcare facilities. NParks also conducts research to better understand the population trends and distribution of monkeys and uses the findings from these studies to inform its measures to manage the monkey population. For example, at monkey hotspots, NParks carries out habitat modification by replacing or harvesting fruit trees. This reduces the availability of food for monkeys. In addition, NParks works closely with other public agencies, grassroots organisations and Town Councils to engage the community on proper refuse management and to deter illegal wildlife feeding. Through such efforts, we work with residents to mitigate the presence of wildlife in their estates. NParks also partners the Long-tailed Macaque Working Group, which includes stakeholders such as academic experts and members of the nature community, to jointly develop and implement measures for monkey management. This includes monkey guarding, which NParks carries out in partnership with residents and other volunteers, to deter troops of monkeys from approaching residential areas. In areas where individual monkeys display more intrusive or aggressive behaviour, NParks intervenes more strongly to protect public safety. This includes trapping and translocating such monkeys away from residential areas. In the longer term, NParks is also looking at population control measures such as sterilisation.”
“In view of the highly-subsidised nature of new public housing flats, Housing and Development Board (HDB) conducts public sales exercises, that is, Build-To-Order (BTO) and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises and open booking – for their sale so that all eligible home seekers can have a fair chance to apply for them. Similarly, to ensure fair allocation of highly-subsidised public rental flats to low-income households who have no other housing options, approved applicants will join a queue before they are invited to select a flat. Nevertheless, HDB recognises that some applicants may face extenuating circumstances and require special assistance to meet their urgent housing needs. From January 2020 to June 2022, HDB received about 22,600 and 6,800 requests for priority allocation of a new flat and public rental flat respectively. Each of these appeals was assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration factors, such as whether the applicants are facing extenuating circumstances and whether they have other suitable housing options available. The number of appeals received and approved in each year are shown in Tables 1 and 2.”
“An Estate Agency Agreement is a binding contract between the consumer and the property agency/agent for the performance of estate agency work. The agreement protects the interests of both parties by providing for contractual clarity in the property transaction. The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) has provided eight standard template Estate Agency Agreements on a variety of residential transactions, and they are made available on CEA's website. We strongly encourage consumers and property agencies/agents to adopt these template agreements to protect the interests of both parties. As the use of these template agreements is not mandatory, CEA does not track its use by the industry.”
“Information on the number of resale transactions and first-time sellers of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats and private residential properties from 2019 to August 2022 is in Table 1.”
“In addition, BCA requires all slopes that are formed or modified by building works to be assessed for risk of failure by a Qualified Person (QP) before construction commences. The QP is required to recommend slope protection measures to be put in place, such as earth retaining walls and stabilising structures, to ensure that the slope remains stable under adverse weather conditions, including extreme rainfall. The QP is also required to recommend measures to monitor the condition of the slope while works are ongoing. The frequency of monitoring may vary, depending on the complexity of the works. For example, slopes may be monitored twice a week for relatively shallow excavation works, and daily for works in close proximity to other buildings. As an additional precautionary measure following the slope failure incident on 2 September, BCA has reminded QPs and builders to inspect slopes on or adjacent to construction sites and to take additional measures to ensure that these slopes remain stable, as needed. BCA will conduct checks to ascertain that project parties have taken these measures. BCA also issues regular advisories to remind land and building owners to implement measures to manage the risk of landslides for their slopes. These include ensuring adequate drainage and proper maintenance of slope- and earth-retaining structures. BCA will review the cause of the recent slope failure incident after the investigations have been completed and assess if additional measures are required, to ensure the safety of slopes on or near construction sites.”
“The scale and impact of landslides, which are movements of a mass of soil down a slope, vary greatly, depending on the amount of soil movement. There was an average of four landslide incidents reported to the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) per year between 2017 and 2019, and 21 per year in 2020 and 2021. These were all relatively minor cases involving the movement of shallow layers of soil and did not cause significant damage to infrastructure. Higher-than-normal rainfall was recorded in 2020 and 2021, which could be one factor that contributed to the higher number of incidents in these two years. As of end-September this year, there has been one landslide incident reported to BCA so far. This was the incident which occurred at the Clementi NorthArc Build-To-Order (BTO) construction site on 2 September 2022. This was caused by slope failure, which refers to the sudden collapse of a slope due to changes in soil strength or the destabilisation of the slope. BCA has inspected the surrounding buildings and found them to be structurally sound. The cause of this incident is, currently, being investigated. Soil movements may be triggered by various factors, such as heavy and prolonged rainfall, additional loads on the slope or changes to the slope profile due to construction work. Agencies that manage public land carry out regular inspections on slopes that may pose a risk to public safety and implement appropriate mitigation measures to stabilise the slopes as needed. Our agencies may also conduct inspections more frequently, such as on a weekly or monthly basis, during periods of intense wet weather.”
“Certain renovation works that may affect the structural integrity of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) block, such as the demolition of walls and hacking of flooring, require a renovation permit from HDB. Before carrying out such works, renovation contractors are required to inform the households within a radius of two flats of the unit being renovated, including the upper and lower floor neighbours, at least five days in advance to give the neighbours notice and time to make prior adjustments. Contractors are also required to put up the Notice of Renovation Works outside the flat being renovated during the renovation period, displaying the contact details of the renovation contractor, duration of the renovation and the dates of the hacking works. Since July 2021, residents have been able to log into the Municipal Services Office (MSO)'s OneService app, Home Renovation Notice, to find out details, including the start and end dates of units in their block which are undergoing renovation works where an HDB permit is required. With the app, residents can choose to receive alerts for upcoming flat renovation works approved by HDB in their blocks. Renovation works that do not affect the structural integrity of the HDB block, such as electrical and carpentry works, are not regulated by HDB. As these works may also generate some noise, HDB encourages the flat owners and their contractors to adopt measures to minimise the noise generated and to similarly keep their immediate neighbours informed of the works in advance.”
“Under our building control regime, buildings must be designed and constructed according to relevant building standards. These include requirements to ensure the structural integrity of building works when exposed to extreme environmental conditions, such as high temperatures, intense rainfall and strong winds. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has assessed that our prevailing building standards are sufficiently robust to ensure the structural integrity of our buildings under the projected climatic conditions for Singapore, based on the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). BCA will continue to review its requirements regularly to ensure that the relevant building standards are on par with international standards and account for the latest scientific evidence, including the updated climate projections under the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).”
“Property agents are required to fulfil specific duties under the Estate Agents Act (EAA) to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. These include performing due diligence checks on customers and reporting suspicious transactions to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) of the Singapore Police Force. The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) conducts regular inspections of property agencies and their agents on their compliance with the regulatory requirements. Those who fail to comply would have committed a breach under EAA and could be subjected to disciplinary action. Between September 2020 and September 2022, CEA has warned 27 property agents for not properly conducting the required due diligence checks on their customers. As a result, there have been no purchase transactions which had to be voided or aborted. The Government has also passed the Developers (Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act and will impose new requirements on developers, such as carrying out customer due diligence checks on purchasers to detect money laundering and terrorism financing.”
“85 billion for its Homeownership Programme. The average deficit incurred by HDB in the last three years from 2019 to 2021 was about $2.68 billion a year. So, claims that HDB profits from the development and sale of HDB flats are false. HDB will continue to ensure that public housing remains affordable and accessible for all Singaporeans.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will incur an estimated development loss of about $250 million for the Build-To-Order (BTO) project Central Weave @ AMK. If we consider the Central Provident Fund (CPF) housing grants that HDB will extend to eligible buyers, the loss will increase further by an estimated $20 million, to about $270 million. The estimated land cost for the project is about $500 million. This is determined independently by the Chief Valuer, using market valuation principles. Land forms part of the Past Reserves. Hence, when HDB uses the land for development, the money that HDB will need to pay for the land must be paid back into the Past Reserves, which are invested and grown for future generations and are protected. The Government cannot use proceeds from land sales as revenue for spending in the Budget. HDB does not price new flats based on cost. When pricing new flats, HDB first establishes their market value by considering the prices of comparable resale flats nearby as well as the individual attributes of the flats and prevailing market conditions. To derive the selling prices, HDB applies a significant subsidy to the assessed market values to ensure that new flats are affordable to those buying their first home. On top of this, HDB provides further grants, such as the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, the Proximity Housing Grant and the Step-Up CPF Housing Grant, among others, to help specific demographic groups with their home ownership aspirations. HDB incurs a significant deficit every year, as the amount that it collects from the sale of flats is far less than the cost of its building programme and the housing grants it disburses each year. For the Financial Year (FY) 2021/2022, for example, HDB recorded a deficit of $3.”
“Sir, I gave the home price to income (HPI) ratio as a broad comparison. Because, firstly, each country's property market is different. In many of the cities I have described, most of them do not have public sector housing the way we do, and certainly not covering 80% of Singaporean households. So, we are broadly comparing HPI for the Singapore property market, as well as for the cities concerned. So, these are broad comparisons.”
“We keep track of the demand for housing, both in terms of the application rates, but we also look at household formation rates – we look at marriage rates, we look at demographic trends. In terms of housing supply for BTO, we know that we have allocation of quota for different segments. For example, most recently, in the August BTO exercise, we ramped up the quota available to first-time flat buyers in non-mature estates, as my colleague, Minister Indranee Rajah said. The 100,000 flats, if the demand persists, will be able to meet much of this demand, but remember that HDB BTO flats are not the only source of housing. There is, of course, also the HDB resale market, as well as the private property market.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have to answer the first question in two parts. First, with regard to delays in construction, what the Member calls "shortfalls in inventory" due to construction delays arising from COVID-19, and then the ramp-up in housing supply. The construction delays impacted BTO launches that were set off prior to COVID-19. Their construction delays resulted in a lengthening of waiting times because of various factors, such as worker shortages, manpower shortages, material shortages, COVID-19 measures that stopped work during the circuit breaker and so on. HDB is working hard with contractors to make sure that the construction of those projects remain on track, while ensuring that the safety and the quality of those projects are not compromised. With regard to the broad-based demand that has arisen as a result of those factors which I mentioned earlier in my answer, that comes in the form of the 100,000 flats that we have committed to launch between 2021 and 2025, if demand is as such. In terms of what impact these set of measures – both macro-prudential measures targeting interest rate floors, as well as the demand management measures with regard to the 15-month wait out period – we intend for the first set to reduce the longer-term risk to home owners and home buyers who take loans. But for demand management, we expect it to have an impact in mitigating demand for resale flats. But, as my colleague, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had said before, one can never fully predict what can happen in the property market and we will continue to keep a close eye on the property market after these measures and in the mid to longer term.”
“We, generally, do not discuss any impending or upcoming measures relating to the property market, in order not to cause people to read or misread signals. So, generally, all these ideas have been raised before, different ways in which we tax property, tax rental income, increase ABSD. We have to look at the housing market, look at what drives demand, look at whether it is in line with economic fundamentals and decide what necessary measures need to be taken and if so, when.”
“Eligible first-timer buyers who buy new flats can enjoy an enhanced CPF housing grant of up to $80,000, on top of the generous subsidies in new flat prices. Those who choose to buy a resale flat can enjoy housing grants of up to $160,000 dollars. In 2021, about 7,000 families received grants for their resale flat purchase. We recognise the concerns of couples looking for their first home to start a family. To meet the strong housing demand, we have ramped up the supply of new flats to 23,000 new flats per year in 2022 and 2023, or a 35% increase from 2021. We are well on track this year and home buyers can look forward to 9,500 flats being offered in the upcoming November BTO launch exercise. We are prepared to launch up to 100,000 new flats from 2021 to 2025. We also endeavour to launch more projects with a shorter waiting time of less than three years where possible. We continually review our policies, to ensure that Singaporeans continue to have access to affordable public housing and to support Singaporeans in owning their first home.”
“We will continue to monitor the market closely and adjust our policies as necessary on both housing demand and supply, to ensure that prices move broadly in line with economic fundamentals. This Government is committed to the stability of the wider Singapore property market and to keeping public housing inclusive, affordable and accessible to Singaporeans. The Second Minister for National Development (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Speaker, many different factors affect marriage and fertility rates. These include shifts in societal norms and attitudes towards marriage and parenthood over time, and temporal factors such as the restrictions and disruptions caused by COVID-19. While we have not conducted studies on the impact of housing prices on marriage and fertility rates, our regular surveys and engagements indicate that many couples continue to aspire to have their own home before they start a family. We recognise these aspirations and preferences, that is why public housing policies are designed to prioritise and support first-timer families to enable them to have their own home and start a family. For example, the vast majority of our BTO flat supply is set aside for first-timer families. The quota of 3-room and 4-room BTO flats in non-mature estates set aside for first-timer families, was increased to 85% and 95% respectively. For mature estates, we continue to set aside 95% of BTO flat supply for first-timer families. First-timer families also have more ballot chances than second-timer families, to improve their likelihood of securing a flat. In addition, the Government has put in place various grants and measures to help Singaporean couples own their first home.”
“The higher floor rates ensure that today's borrowers take loans that reflect the likelihood of rising interest rates and avoid overstretching themselves. If we do not move now, households may run into housing difficulties when they find it harder to service their housing obligations. This is already happening in other countries where we see home owners defaulting on their mortgage payments and losing their homes. Beyond the cooling measures, we recognise that there is genuine demand from home buyers. We have, therefore, also increased supply in both public and private housing markets. For HDB, we have ramped up our BTO supply and are on track to launch 23,000 flats per year in 2022 and 2023, or a 35% increase from 2021. In November this year, we will launch more than 9,500 BTO flats. We are prepared to launch up to 100,000 flats in total from 2021 to 2025, if needed. We also endeavour to launch more projects with a shorter waiting time of less than three years where possible. The supply of private housing on the Confirmed List of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme has also been increased by 75% from 2021 to 2022. We are prepared to increase supply further to meet the demand for private housing, if needed. The Government will intervene and do what is necessary, to ensure a stable property market and affordable public housing for Singaporeans. This has been our approach all along. We will do so decisively but also carefully, being cognisant of the uncertain global economic outlook and rising interest rates environment, which will affect home prices and contribute to uncertainty in our property market.”
“Therefore, we have decided to move now to safeguard home buyers and ensure that they are able to service their long-term home loans. We have thus implemented the following measures to tighten the maximum amount that can be taken for home loans and ensure prudent borrowing. We have raised the medium-term rate floor used under the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and MSR frameworks to compute a borrower's maximum loan quantum for residential property loans granted by private financial institutions from 3.5% to 4% per annum. The actual rates that private financial institutions charge for home loans will, however, continue to be determined by them. Next, HDB will introduce an interest rate floor of 3% per annum to compute a borrower's maximum eligible housing loan amount. This is 1% below the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) rate floor for private financial institutions. This will reduce the maximum loan quantum for home buyers taking HDB loans but will not increase the monthly instalment borrowers have to pay, as there is no change to the HDB concessionary interest rate of 2.6%. We have also lowered the Loan-to-Value (LTV) limit for HDB housing loans from 85% to 80%, so that home buyers borrow prudently in view of the uncertain economic outlook and rising interest rate environment. This is not expected to affect first-timer and lower-income flat buyers significantly, as they receive housing grants of up to $80,000 when buying a subsidised flat directly from HDB, or up to $160,000 when buying a resale flat, and can tap on their CPF savings to pay for the flat purchase. These measures are necessary as property loans are long-term commitments and often a household's largest liability.”
“In particular, the number of private property owners buying HDB resale flats has doubled in 2021 and the first three quarters of this year, as compared to 2019 and 2020. Overall, private property owners and former private property owners make up about one in 10 HDB resale flat buyers. Private residential property owners, generally, have more financial means to buy resale flats, as compared to first-time home buyers or existing HDB-owners. Some might not even need to take loans to complete their purchase. They, therefore, tend to pay higher amounts of cash-over-valuation (COV) when buying HDB resale flats. Having said that, we recognise that not all private residential property owners are in the same situation. Some seniors need to sell their private property and move to an HDB flat to strengthen their retirement adequacy. So, we are exempting seniors above the age of 55 who are moving from a private property to a 4-room or a smaller resale flat from the wait-out period. We also know that there are private residential property owners, whatever their age, who face genuine housing needs or who have to sell their homes because of extenuating circumstances, such as financial difficulties. They should approach HDB for assistance, and my colleagues will see how best to support them on a case-by-case basis. Next, we are also mindful of the challenges posed by the rising interest rate environment. From 2013 to 2021, we have had exceptionally low interest rates, especially from financial institutions. But market interest rates have risen over the last year, with further increases expected over the medium term. This will increase borrowing costs for those who are buying a home and also for those who are servicing existing home loans pegged to floating rates.”
“We review our grants regularly to ensure that resale flats remain affordable. Generally, the mortgage servicing ratio (MSR), which is the proportion of monthly income used to service mortgage instalment payments, has remained below 25% for most new and resale first-timer flat buyers taking on an HDB loan. This is well below the international benchmark of between 30% and 35%. This means that most first-timer buyers can service their housing loans using their monthly CPF contributions, with little or no cash outlay. The Member also asked what the Government will do to ensure housing is affordable for Singaporeans in the wider Singapore property market. We have announced, on 30 September this year – measures to moderate demand in the HDB resale market to ensure that HDB flats continue to remain affordable, as well as measures to encourage prudent borrowing amidst the rising interest rate environment. First, we introduced a wait-out period of 15 months before private property owners are allowed to purchase a non-subsidised HDB resale flat. This measure aims to moderate demand and slow the momentum of price increases in the HDB resale market, by deferring demand from private property owners, so that HDB resale flats will continue to be an affordable option for first-time HDB flat buyers. We intend for this measure to be temporary and will review this, depending on overall demand and market changes. Previously, private residential property owners looking to buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat do not have to serve a wait-out period, but they will need to sell their private properties within six months of the HDB flat purchase.”
“They may buy a 4-room flat in any of the three non-mature estate projects in the recent August 2022 BTO exercise, namely in Jurong East, Woodlands and Choa Chu Kang. These projects come with typical prices comparable to, or lower than, the average price of BTO flats in non-mature estates at about $348,000. After factoring in the $45,000 in grants they would receive, they will need to use about 23% of their monthly income for their housing loan, which means that they will be able to service their mortgages from their monthly Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions with no cash outlay. This also works out to a home price-to-income ratio of around five for this family, which means that the price of their home is about five times their annual household income. For a first-timer couple who are both fresh tertiary graduates buying their first home, a typical combined starting salary would be about $6,500. They would receive $30,000 in grants and would only need to use 18% of their monthly income for their housing loan to afford the same new 4-room flats in any of the non-mature estate projects in the recent August 2022 BTO exercise, with typical prices comparable to or lower than $348,000. This works out to a home price-to-income ratio of around four for this family, and they would also be able to service their mortgage fully from their CPF contributions. As a broad comparison, the ratio of the median home price to the median household income in other comparable cities, such as London, Los Angeles and Sydney are much higher, at between eight and 15 times. In Hong Kong, it is more than 20 times. For resale flats, the Government provides significant housing grants of up to $160,000 to ensure that resale flats remain affordable for eligible first-timer families.”
“We understand the concerns about housing affordability and have, therefore, been carefully monitoring the housing market. We are committed to keeping public housing affordable and accessible, to meet the housing aspirations of Singaporeans and to help Singaporeans own their own homes. This is a key longstanding national priority and provides the basic foundation for us to raise our families, bring up our children and build strong communities. That is why we continue to build and sell new HDB flats at prices below the market as they come with significant subsidies. The average price for a new 4-room flat in a non-mature estate has remained relatively stable at $341,000 in 2019 and $348,000 in the first three quarters of this year. We have managed to keep prices relatively stable as market subsidies have been increased, to keep new flats affordable. Eligible first-timer buyers can also receive Enhanced CPF Housing Grants (EHG) of up to $80,000, with more help for lower-income buyers. For new flats in prime, central locations, we have introduced the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) Model which provides additional subsidies on top of the substantial subsidies already provided for BTO flats. This is to keep flats in such locations affordable for a wider range of Singaporeans. The Member has asked if we should have affordability benchmarks and if these should consider families at the 30th percentile of income, instead of just median income. Sir, our affordability benchmarks do not only consider median incomes, as we provide a wide range of BTO flats for first-timer buyers with different housing needs and budgets. Take, for example, a first-timer household earning about $5,000, which is slightly less than the 30th percentile of resident household incomes.”
“Thank you, Sir. This reply will also respond to the Member's question for 3 October on affordability benchmarks for public housing. Sir, over the past two years, there has been strong, broad-based demand for housing, including in the Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale market. There are a number of reasons for this. First, we have seen more households forming as the echo-boomer generation – those who are in their 30s today – are getting married, especially with the easing of COVID-19 measures. Next, we also see societal trends shifting to smaller households, as young couples, singles, as well as adult children choose to buy their own homes instead of living together with their parents. These aspirations for more personal space may have been accentuated during the pandemic. Third, more homebuyers have also turned to the resale market because of longer waiting times for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats due to construction delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourth, in the last two years, we have also seen more private property owners and existing HDB owners cashing out on their property and going into the HDB resale market. To be clear, foreigners are not allowed to buy HDB flats and would not have contributed to the increase in demand for public housing. They also account for a small proportion of overall private residential property demand. These demand factors, alongside the previous low interest rate environment that made it cheaper to service a home loan, have put upward pressure on HDB resale flat prices. Since the Government implemented a broad package of measures in December 2021, the HDB Resale Price Index has increased by 5.3% in the first half of this year.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Question No 2 on today's Order Paper on the issue of marriage and parenthood is also relevant to this question on public housing affordability. As such, may I request, Sir, that the answers to Question Nos 1 and 2 be provided first, and the supplementary questions from Members on both questions be taken together thereafter.”