PM Wong gives assurance that HDB flats will remain affordable in the longer term

Housing Board flats will remain affordable in the long run, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as he sought to assure Singaporeans that the Government will ensure their basic needs would always remain within reach.

- Tham Yuen-C

The focus for now is to make sure there are enough new flats for young couples and families buying a home for the first time. Once the overall market has stabilised, the Government will have scope to look at meeting the needs of other groups of flat buyers, PM Wong added.

"Overall, in the longer term, we are confident that HDB prices will remain affordable," he said on Feb 28 as he rounded up the Budget debate. "Why? Because only Singaporeans can buy HDB flats, and we can, and we will build enough housing for every Singaporean household."

During the three-day debate, Progress Singapore Party (PSP) Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) Hazel Poa criticised the Government's policy of selling state land to the HDB at market value and returning the proceeds to the past reserves.

This places a heavy burden on Singaporeans as the land cost is factored into the price of HDB flats, and is an example of the PAP Government's propensity to prioritise economic considerations over social ones, she said.

Rebutting this characterisation, PM Wong said the Government's approach is to do things the right way and to get the policies right.

Not pricing land properly would be akin to giving a hidden subsidy that will eventually end up being paid by taxpayers, he said.

"If it's not paid today, it will have to be paid tomorrow, because at the end of the day, there is no free lunch," he added.

The first order is to get the price right, then decide how much to subsidise, he said.

HDB does not recover the full cost of flats from buyers, as flats are priced on the basis of affordability, he noted.