The Straits Times Podcasts S1E30: Desmond Lee on housing, GE2025 and lessons learnt as a politician
Synopsis: The Usual Place host Natasha Ann Zachariah hunts for new perspectives on issues that matter to young people.
Following Budget 2025 and the Committee of Supply Debate on government spending, Natasha invites as her co-host Isabelle Liew, a ST journalist who covers the housing beat.
They welcome Minister for National Development Desmond Lee on their living room couch as he says housing affordability will always be a “top-of-mind” issue for Singaporeans, as the nation gears up for the upcoming general election.
He explains how the Government’s measures, including the increase in supply of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and the injection of executive condominium (EC) units, will start to address this issue.
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:50 What are 'brownfield' sites? Minister explains; on seeming ground sentiment that homeownership is slipping out of reach for younger Singaporeans
5:29 Differences between "willing buyer, willing seller" resale open market and new BTO flats; on supply projection
9:25 On property sales flyers hyping up million-dollar HDB resale flats; the FOMO (fear of missing out) effect, information and prudence
11:42 On possible government levers and measures on demand, how market can find stable baseline over the long term; advice to younger home-buying couples
18:20 On how his own West Coast GRC team fared since the last general election, and following the departure of Mr S Iswaran after corruption charges
24:00 On voter sentiments and housing affordability as an issue for the GE
34:00 What Minister Desmond Lee has learnt about himself as a politician so far, juggling portfolios? On what happens at his Meet-the-People Sessions
39:28 The deeper nuances behind converting the brownfield site for the upcoming new Mount Pleasant BTO housing estate
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Read Isabelle Liew's articles: https://str.sg/iqDq
Filmed by: Studio+65
Edited by: ST Video (Jacen Tan)
Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong
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