2012 jun 15
Smaller units have a role to play
I agree with Mr Conrad Raj’s commentary “Not too small for comfort” (June 7) and would add that shoebox apartments play an important role in the real estate landscape here.
Single professionals like me who graduated recently from university face difficulty starting a life of our own because of the high real estate prices.
Renting is not a good alternative because high housing prices translate to high rentals. Sinking money into this means further postponing home ownership.
It does not help that the Housing and Development Board bars singles below the age of 35 from purchasing public flats.
Despite the high per-square-foot prices, shoebox apartments are thus the only affordable option for young graduates with only a few years of savings who wish to also graduate from the family home.
While there are fears that speculators are cornering the shoebox apartment market and artificially driving up prices, cutting supply is not the answer.
Instead, to rebalance the property market and allocate housing to those who wish to be owner-occupiers, rather than those who “invest”, the loan-to-value limit for companies buying properties could be further lowered.
Loan-to-value limits could also be pegged to income levels. Now, the amount of housing loan a first-time individual buyer can obtain is a flat limit of 80 per cent of the purchase price.
The Government should implement a sliding scale whereby lower-income individuals are allowed a higher limit, while high-income buyers and those who already own property are further restricted.
Leow Zi Xiang
Source : Today – 2012 Jun 14
Smaller units have a role to play
I agree with Mr Conrad Raj’s commentary “Not too small for comfort” (June 7) and would add that shoebox apartments play an important role in the real estate landscape here.
Single professionals like me who graduated recently from university face difficulty starting a life of our own because of the high real estate prices.
Renting is not a good alternative because high housing prices translate to high rentals. Sinking money into this means further postponing home ownership.
It does not help that the Housing and Development Board bars singles below the age of 35 from purchasing public flats.
Despite the high per-square-foot prices, shoebox apartments are thus the only affordable option for young graduates with only a few years of savings who wish to also graduate from the family home.
While there are fears that speculators are cornering the shoebox apartment market and artificially driving up prices, cutting supply is not the answer.
Instead, to rebalance the property market and allocate housing to those who wish to be owner-occupiers, rather than those who “invest”, the loan-to-value limit for companies buying properties could be further lowered.
Loan-to-value limits could also be pegged to income levels. Now, the amount of housing loan a first-time individual buyer can obtain is a flat limit of 80 per cent of the purchase price.
The Government should implement a sliding scale whereby lower-income individuals are allowed a higher limit, while high-income buyers and those who already own property are further restricted.
Leow Zi Xiang
Source : Today – 2012 Jun 14
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