As part of the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS), the HDB has allowed private developers to buy the site and then develop it for sale. Benefits of this scheme have been widely publicised in the media as well as on the HDB website. On paper, it seems a wonderful prospect for both the public and the HDB. The public get flats with better quality, while the HDB does not have to build them itself.

One criterion set by the HDB was that the combined income of applicants must be below $8,000. Thus, if a couple buy the most expensive flat in City View@Boon Keng at more than $700,000, they face the prospect of paying over $2,000 in instalments, based on a 90 per cent loan over 30 years. To service that amount, they have to fork out additional cash on top of their CPF contributions. The rationale is about the same, even if they buy an average priced flat for about $500,000. Unless applicants have healthy savings, they will spend a significant portion of their lives paying off their loans.

The HDB may need to review the criteria it has set for the DBSS. Although they may have worked for past HDB projects, they may no longer apply to the DBSS. If the HDB decides the DBSS is the concept for Singapore's future housing development, it should take into serious consideration the prices private developers will set. Affordable housing may no longer be realistic if we leave these issues unaddressed.

Chan Han Jun