S1E33: Possible end of BTO profit-flipping mentality: Youths, expert discuss

Sep 24, 2023

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Will new systemic changes make first-time couples adopt a new "forever home" mentality?

Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests.

The Forward Singapore exercise began in June 2022, and since then, many Singaporeans from all walks of life have taken part in engagement sessions on a wide range of topics, including housing. This is the third of four podcast discussions, and part of the ongoing conversation to refresh our social compact for the next lap of Singapore's journey.

At these Forward Singapore engagements, participants agreed that Singapore should continue to be an affordable home-owning society.

To get their reactions towards tighter restrictions and additional subsidies for new Plus and Prime flats, to start from the second half of 2024 under the recently-announced new classification for public housing, ST's podcast editor Ernest Luis hosts three guests in this episode:

Mr Eden Soh, 28, a media producer who recently just paid his deposit for his Prime Location Housing flat in the south-western area
Mr Asher Chua, 28, a sales executive who applied for BTO flats for a few years but has now bought a resale flat instead
Ms Christine Sun, senior vice-president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie

This podcast is brought to you by the Ministry of Communications and Information, in support of Forward Singapore: https://str.sg/wFbY

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:35 Do youths like Mr Soh, and their peers, feel that public housing flats will probably not be as huge a "pot of gold" as it was seen previously?

5:25 Could the reclassification of flats mean a new reality for aspiring homeowners? Ms Sun on whether it could be the end of the "flipping-for-profit" mentality among young people?

8:15 Why Mr Chua chose a resale flat in the end

14:55 With the new classification of flats from the second half of 2024, what will be the impact on million-dollar public flats?

17:45 First-time public flat owners: Will their buying behaviours change, and will such systemic changes help stabilise long-term property market?

25:10 HDB resale prices: Could there be uneven price growth for different segments?