Monday 7 January 2013

HDB has lost its Role & Mission to provide affordable housing. Greed at play?

7th January 2013

HDB website (Role)

HDB website (Vision/Mission)

Straits Times
 If one looks up the dictionary, the word affordable means not expensive. HDB's mission and vision states very clearly to provide affordable homes to Singaporeans. Ensuring every Singaporean a basic roof above their heads.

Fast track to year 2013, we now have HDB flats build and designed by private developers under the Executive Condominium (EC) scheme. A penthouse unit in Tampines was recently sold at a record price of $2.05 million and the EC scheme is meant for the "sandwich class" with a total household income of not more than $12K. With this combined monthly salary of $12K against the price tag of $2.05 million, a buyer is actually buying beyond his means.

Many questions come into mind . . . is it greed or ignorance of the HDB to allow such a sale to take place or allow such luxurious units to be built and offered to the so called "sandwich class"?  Shouldn't prices of million dollar new homes be categorized under the private property sector? Do you still trust the HDB of its objectives to provide affordable homes, while they simply don't practice what they preach?


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