Think first before selling your flat, says DPM

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng urged homeowners to think first before selling their HDB flats in the current upbeat property market.

“In today's brisk market, some of us may be tempted to sell our flat for a profit. I urge you to think carefully before you act on it. Your HDB flat is meant for you to keep for a longer term. It is a key source of financial security upon your retirement,” said DPM Wong, who is also MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister.

“There are various ways of monetising the value of your HDB flats when you are ready to do so. But please do not sell your flat until you are satisfied that you have another place to stay,” said Mr. Wong during HDB’s 50th anniversary celebration near the Bishan MRT station.

As part of the year-long celebration of HDB’s 50th anniversary, the “Storeys of Our Homes” exhibition will be seen throughout the heartlands of Singapore until July 2010.

Held in towns representing the country’s five main zones – Bishan, Choa Chu Kang, Tampines, Woodlands and Eunos – the exhibition will be moved to the zone celebration in Choa Chu Kang next month, followed by the ones in Woodlands in June and Tampines in July.

The exhibition will commemorate the main milestones that HDB has come through to mold Singapore’s public housing today, and the recent developments like The Pinnacle@Duxton, Treelodge@Punggol and the Remaking Our Heartland plans.

“In the early years, housing conditions were deplorable. There was a severe housing shortage, with many living in slums and squatter colonies,” noted Mr. Wong.

“The first task HDB faced was quite an uphill one - to re-house the large numbers of people from the squatters and farmlands urgently. HDB built basic housing that was cheaper and faster to construct.”

Mr. Wong stressed about the upgrading of HDB flats in eight towns, including Queenstown, Kallang/Whampoa, Serangoon, Bishan, Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah, Ang Mo Kio and Central Area, had enjoyed to date.

“The government has spent nearly $3.4 billion to complete the upgrading of the living environment for more than 150,000 households in these eight towns,” DPM Wong said.

“It has also committed another $1 billion to upgrade the living environment for yet another 85,000 households. I can assure you that as long as we have the financial resources, the government will continue to extend upgrading to all other households eligible for upgrading.”