Purchase of HDB Studio Apartments before Age 55

Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister for the reply. I am glad to hear the assurance by Minister that flexibility may be accorded. I understand the need for the policy but there are also older Singaporeans who may not be able to rent directly from HDB or cannot afford to rent from the open market or live with their children. It seems that the SA is their only housing option. Would the Ministry consider providing an option to eligible older Singaporeans aged 55 and above, for example, those who are economically active who can support themselves, to be able to decide to use their CPF funds to purchase an SA and get a lower monthly CPF payout after the age of 62? There are some of these older Singaporeans who feel that they should take care of their housing needs first before worrying about the monthly payouts seven to eight years later.

I am not very sure. I may need to discuss this with the Acting Minister for Manpower. This affects the CPF rules. As the Member knows, I am always flexible and compassionate. I will discuss this with my coll

Thank you, Mdm Speaker. Supplementary questions, please. I would like to ask the Minister whether the SAs are becoming too expensive as an option for the elderly who were initially planning to take up the option. I remember we started off with the SAs costing

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about $60,000 per unit. Today, it costs a lot more. Secondly, in view of the term of the lease and the size of the SAs, whether he thinks the current selling price is quite expensive, compared to BTO flats.

The answers to both supplementary questions are no. I think the pricing is reasonable. I pay particular attention to SAs and we look at pricing carefully. I do not know when the price tag was $60,000 per SA, but, right now, it is about $100,000. It does vary with location. I have read some comments in the new media comparing SAs with 2-room flats. They are comparing "apples" with "lemons". Some SAs were in very highly popular locations, vs some 2-room flats in non-mature estates. There must be a price difference to reflect the difference in locations. Generally, I find that the SAs are a good option for those who want to right-size. This is targeted at this group. It is one additional option for them. They are now living in a big flat and this is one option for them.

I did a house-to-house visit over the weekend. I was happy to see an elderly couple, retirees, living in a 5-room flat. They looked a little lonely because they said that the children have all gotten their BTO flats and, one by one, they have moved out. Now, they have a 5-room flat and only the elderly couple are living there. They are seriously looking at the SA option, knowing that once they right-size and monetise, they will have substantial – easily $200,000 – extra funds. I gave them a strong piece of advice, "Please make sure you keep that money. Don't spend it on silly things because you will regret it."

Thank you, Mdm Speaker. A supplementary question: could the Minister clarify the position of residents who may be in transition, those who are old enough to qualify for SAs but may not have the cash or CPF balances to place a deposit, for one, but have equity tied up in their current flats. They cannot sell without buying and they cannot buy without selling. Could these residents be helped?

I have personally encountered some cases in my own constituency. We would always try to render our help. We know that, sometimes, people during this transitional may not have the cash. But the initial deposit should not be a problem; it is just $250.

Thank you, Mdm Speaker. In fact, these SAs offer a very good option for residents who want to right-size. I have received a lot of good feedback from residents. I would like to ask the Minister: what about for those who would like to right-size in the same zone? For example, in Yishun South, recently, Khatib Court is very popular. A lot of my residents have been asking if they could be given priority when they want to right-size in the same zone.

Yes, Madam. That is why we have a Studio Apartment Priority Scheme. It is precisely for that reason. I think quite a substantial proportion of the BTO offerings is reserved for those seniors who apply who either live there, or have children in that locality. The last time I checked, I recall that we were able to meet all the demand, including those in Yishun.

Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister for touching on the issue of pricing for SAs. The scheme is a fantastic one. Many of my residents are also thankful for this scheme. However, SAs serve a very niche objective and they also have to be sold back to HDB. There is thus concern about whether the price fluctuations are really impacted by the market, since you can only sell it back to HDB at the end of the lease term.

As I have said, the Studio Apartments scheme is quite a special one and it is designed for a particular purpose. So, Members should not compare it term-for-term with other flat type like 2- or 3-room flats. It is precisely because we impose some of these conditions for that targeted group, that we were able to keep the pricing of SAs fairly affordable, in order to allow the elderly homeowners to be able to monetise with substantial cash proceeds, and, as I had said earlier, I hope they will know how to hold it and not lose it.