Business Times 5 Apr 08;
WILL plot ratios go up in the draft Master Plan 2008?
'There will be changes in certain places to reflect certain local situations, local conditions,' National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday without elaborating.
But there will 'not be a major review across-the-board' of plot ratios for the draft Master Plan 2008, he said. Plot ratio is the ratio of maximum gross floor area (GFA) to site area, so the higher a site's plot ratio, the more the GFA that can be built on it.
The draft Master Plan 2008 is expected to be unveiled in late May and exhibited for a month for public feedback before being finalised and gazetted by the year-end.
Mr Mah last year ruled out massive, across-the-board islandwide increases in plot ratios for Master Plan 2008 to cope with a long-term population planning parameter of 6.5 million. Yesterday, he said: 'We will do our Master Plan review every five years. As we go forward, as the situation changes, we will make the appropriate decision then.'
A study by Jones Lang LaSalle published by BT earlier this year said undeveloped state sites within walking distance of Circle Line MRT stations, particularly those that intersect with existing MRT lines, will be among the top candidates for higher plot ratios in Master Plan 2008.
The study highlighted areas near Paya Lebar MRT Station and Buona Vista MRT Station, where the Circle Line will intersect with the existing East-West Line, and HarbourFront MRT, where the Circle Line crosses the North-East Line.
National Development Minister responds to property issues
Straits Times 5 Apr 08;
On rental housing:
'Our strategy is two-pronged... We are looking to increase the supply from 43,000 today, to go up to about 50,000. So that's another 7,000 - an increase of about 20 per cent.
'We are also relooking the eligibility criteria to make sure they cater to the really needy.
'As an article mentioned today, a lot of people in the queue really shouldn't be in the queue. They already enjoyed a housing subsidy...and cashed out, and are now coming out to join the queue. So while they are eligible today, strictly speaking, there are other people much more in need of a rental flat.
'There are other alternatives in place - whether it's a studio apartment, smaller flat, or the lease buyback scheme that we will roll out next month. All these are ways to monetise their flats.
'Joining the rental flat queue is not the way and I think we have to relook our criteria.'
On withdrawing the deferred-payment scheme:
'It was a very carefully considered decision...The objective was twofold: remove excessive speculation from the market and make sure there is financial prudence so that people...don't over-commit.
'These are still relevant today. We don't see a need to change the decision.'
On City Developments chief Kwek Leng Beng's suggestion that the Government remain 'nimble' in a changing property market and review the land sales programme:
'It's a point of view a developer will take, but there are many players in the property market; they all have their own views... They represent different, conflicting interests.
'We can be nimble, but we have to bear in mind that we have to take a longer-term view about things...We should be careful about knee-jerk reactions.
'We can't adjust because something happens yesterday and we change things today.'
On increasing Singapore's population:
'We don't know what will happen, what the numbers will be in 10 to 20 years.
'But if we do need to increase our population to 6.5 million in the future...it is comforting to note that our physical resources, especially land, are able to support this.'
HDB reviewing application process
Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 5 Apr 08;
THE Housing Board is in the process of reviewing its current application process, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan disclosed yesterday.
This follows recent public concerns that the thousands of applications that pour in for an HDB project bear little relation to the actual take-up rate of flats.
HDB's latest condo-like flats, City View @ Boon Keng, for example, sold only 250 or so out of 714 units, despite receiving 3,500 applications.
Eligible buyers pay $10 to enter a ballot for HDB's sales exercises. This assigns them a queue number to select a flat in a particular sales project.
Mr Mah acknowledged it was frustrating for some couples in the queue - who might have missed out on selecting a flat because of the high numbers - and said there was a need to address it.
'I've asked HDB to study this to discourage people from giving up their flats, or chance, so easily.'
The idea is to have a queue that ensures that when buyers get to the front, they book the flat, said Mr Mah.
'That will be fair to people in the queue, and good for HDB, to get some certainty about the supply and demand situation.'
More details on the review will come at a later date, he said.
Mah disagrees with suggestions on land sales, deferred payment scheme
Business Times 5 Apr 08;
NATIONAL Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday disagreed with suggestions by property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng on the need for the government to review its first-half 2008 land sales programme and rethink its decision to scrap the deferred payment scheme.
Mr Mah said the government can be nimble on state land sales because the programme is reviewed every six months, depending on changes in the market.
But the H1 2008 programme will not be changed midstream, he said. 'We should be careful of knee-jerk reactions. You can't adjust it just because something is happening yesterday and then we change things today. We've got to take a longer-term view.'
Mr Mah was speaking at a media briefing after he delivered the keynote address at Urban Redevelopment Authority's Corporate Plan seminar at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.
In an interview published by BT this week, Mr Kwek had urged the government to review its H1 2008 land sale programme, which was fixed last year when the property market was buoyant compared with today.
On the decision announced in October last year to scrap the deferred payment scheme, Mr Mah said yesterday it was carefully considered, taken 'after a lot of thought, deliberation'.
'The objective was two-fold,' he said. 'One, to remove excessive speculation from the market. And two, to make sure there is financial prudence - that people make decisions and don't over-commit themselves.
'These are two very important objectives and they are still relevant today - in fact, probably more so in today's kind of market. I don't see any need for us to change our decision on that.'
Mr Kwek had suggested the deferred payment scheme could be revived, but this time with a higher initial payment of 30 per cent instead of 20 per cent previously. He also said that if a developer wants to extend a deferred payment scheme to a buyer, perhaps the developer's bank might be in a better position to assess viability, while keeping an eye on prudence.
Mr Kwek also made a suggestion he said could make housing more affordable for young Singaporeans, including singles. The government could build more public housing units and lease them to young first-time buyers with an option to buy the flats within 10 years at fixed prices, he said.
Responding yesterday, Mr Mah said he disagreed with the premise that young couples cannot afford to buy an HDB flat.
'The average amount of money they need to put up for monthly mortgage payments is well within their means, something like 20 per cent. This is quite affordable,' he said.
'If you were to rent, they will probably be paying as much, if not more, in rental, than to buy the flat. It doesn't make sense to rent when you can buy using your CPF. You rent, you can't use your CPF.
'When you buy, you actually buy a place you can call your own. It's an investment. When you rent, it's not yours.
'Our home ownership policy with all the generous housing subsidies that we have given actually allows most Singaporeans, young couples, to be able to buy their own homes.
'If you look at the numbers, you'll find that suggestion (by Mr Kwek) does not quite make sense.'
Minister Mah assures there is no shortage of housing in Singapore
Channel NewsAsia 4 Apr 08;
SINGAPORE : National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has said there is no shortage of housing in Singapore.
He said, "Based on all the BTO (Build-To-Order) projects that we've had so far, (for) all of the projects, all of the developments for the last year - except one - there've always been flats left over, even after everybody in the queue has been offered."
But some home buyers often decline the opportunity to pick their flats, if the choices do not meet their expectations.
So the Housing and Development Board (HDB) is looking at new measures to limit this.
But Mr Mah assured that it is unlikely HDB will raise the administrative fee.
He said, "I don't think increasing it from S$10 to S$100 all round is going to work, because people will only say, 'Oh, you're now trying to collect more money, the government's trying to make more money from me'.
"I am asking HDB to study this, to find a way to discourage people from giving up their flats, or giving up their chance so easily. Yes, some people will say 'It's my prerogative to give it up, I don't want it, I can give it up'. Fair enough, but then you will have to suffer some penalties."
Mr Mah also responded to calls for the deferred payment scheme on property purchases to be brought back amid signs of a slowdown in residential property sales.
He said: "The decision to remove the deferred payment scheme was a very carefully considered decision. The objective of it was twofold. One was to remove excessive speculation from the market and two it was to make sure that there is financial prudence.
“These two objectives are still relevant today, probably more so in today's market, so I don't see any need for us to change our decision on that."
There have also been hopes for plot ratios to be increased but the minister said that changes will only be made when necessary.
For now though there won't be a major review across the board. - CNA/ms/vm
