In defending Singapore’s public housing model, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong reaffirmed that the system remains affordable, functional, and sustainable.
His comments, delivered in an in-depth CNA interview as part of Singapore’s Public Housing Revealed, aimed to address public concern over rising prices, the viability of 99-year leases, and whether future generations will have the same access to home ownership.
Yet despite the clarity of intent, Wong’s responses rest on selectively framed comparisons and assumptions that weaken the coherence of his case.
Several key contradictions emerge when examining his claims against a broader and more representative set of indicators.
Wong compared the price of a three-room flat in Marine Parade in 1974—S$37,000—with a present-day BTO flat in Bayshore costing S$369,000.
While noting that Marine Parade was a non-mature estate on reclaimed land, he dismissed the comparison as unbalanced.
However, his rebuttal fails to address the core concern: the dramatic rise in housing prices over time, even in non-mature estates, has outpaced median wage growth.
Rather than offering a timeline across decades or referencing housing cost-to-income ratios over the last 10 or 20 years, Wong relied on a single comparison between distant and dissimilar eras.
This approach glosses over key structural shifts in Singapore’s housing market, including the escalating cost of land, constrained supply, and the widening affordability gap for middle-income buyers.
His use of teacher salaries as a benchmark for wage growth further narrows the discussion.
Citing a 1970s teacher earning several hundred dollars monthly against a current starting salary of S$4,000 creates the impression of significant wage inflation.
Yet this comparison, while technically correct, omits the broader context. Teachers form a relatively small, professionally secure group.
A more representative comparison would have looked at the wider group of Associate Professionals and Technicians, or even the national median wage—measures that offer a clearer picture of the average Singaporean’s capacity to afford housing.
The claim that 80 per cent of BTO buyers receive housing grants similarly requires qualification.
While a majority of first-time buyers do benefit from some form of grant, few receive the highest-tier grants that significantly reduce flat prices.
Grant eligibility is sharply tapered based on household income, and the most generous grants are reserved for those at the lower end of the income spectrum.
Middle-income families—who make up a substantial share of BTO applicants—often qualify for smaller grants, if any, especially when applying for flats in desirable or central locations.
Wong also reiterated that most BTO buyers are able to service their housing loans without cash outlay, using CPF savings.
While this is accurate in terms of mortgage instalments, it does not fully address concerns around retirement adequacy.
The logic that a home can serve as both a primary residence and a retirement asset assumes long-term capital appreciation or successful monetisation.
However, the 99-year lease model limits resale value as flats age, and monetisation schemes such as Lease Buyback are not universally embraced or sufficient for all retirement needs.
The editorial contradiction is clearest here: on one hand, housing is positioned as an accessible and affordable social good; on the other, it is also framed as an appreciating asset and a vehicle for retirement security.
These dual roles are increasingly at odds. If flat values are to rise in line with retirement needs, affordability suffers.
If they are to remain affordable, their investment value becomes questionable—particularly for younger buyers who may never see significant capital gains due to lease decay.
While Wong rightly points to policy mechanisms introduced to curb speculation—such as adjustments to CPF withdrawal limits and higher Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty for multiple-property owners—these do not resolve the underlying issue.
Affordability remains tethered not just to grants or income growth, but also to how the government frames the purpose of public housing.
Singapore’s housing model remains internationally recognised for its successes, but sustaining public confidence requires not just policy execution but clarity and consistency in public communication.
Selective comparisons, even when technically sound, obscure rather than clarify.
If the government seeks to assure younger Singaporeans that home ownership remains within reach, it must acknowledge the lived realities of the middle class and address the growing tension between affordability and asset appreciation.
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