NEW HDB PLUS FLATS HELP YOUNG FAMILIES, SANDWICH GENERATION
The announcement of the Plus flats category “meets the concerns for many Singaporeans who are concerned about whether or not they can afford flats in choice locations”, MP Henry Kwek (PAP-Kebun Baru) told CNA.
He said that the “proposals on how to maintain good social mix, ensure affordability, and ensure the system is fair” resonates with the views that he hears from many Singaporeans in the Forward Singapore conversation.
“When we give more subsidies, it means that people of all income groups can afford a house and it also means that our various HDB estates can continue to have good social mix,” he added.
Asked what he wished could be better about the public housing announcements on Sunday, Mr Kwek cautioned that “housing is something that affects everybody” and that there are “so many dimensions that we have to watch out for”. He added that he “fully agrees” with the “measured approach” to the changes.
“Personally, I believe that we have to take gradual steps and not rush to create too many changes at one shot, because the consequences could be unpredictable,” he said.
Similarly, MP Nadia Samdin (PAP-Ang Mo Kio) pointed out that the introduction of Plus flats would benefit young couples who wish to stay near their family.
“I often have a lot of young people who have come to me and say, ‘I really want to stay near my family. However, I don’t have any options.’ Or they feel that they are being priced out of their options,” she said, adding that the Plus category of flats would be good for such couples.
Meanwhile, MP Melvin Yong (PAP-Radin Mas) pointed out that the Plus flats would be “especially beneficial” to his residents because his constituency is located in the central part of Singapore. As a result, the new BTO flats and resale flats “tend to be priced higher”.
“A lot of my residents – both the elderly parents as well as (their) children – will have come to me for help,” he said.
“Parents say, ‘Can you help my children to get a home nearer to me?’; young people say, ‘We have been balloting a lot and we cannot get a flat.’ So sometimes when we advise them to look for (a flat in) what they call a ‘non-mature estate’, they tend to be a lot further.”
Doing away with the decades-old labels of mature and non-mature estates and introducing the Standard, Plus and Prime classification model, “would certainly help hopefully lower the price”, Mr Yong believes.
“And then it will allow my residents a better chance of fulfilling their wish to stay nearer to their parents.”