Expatriates are not the only ones feeling the pinch of rents in Singapore, which are rising at the fastest pace in the world.
The pain is trickling down to young single people such as Sonam who are largely shut out of the nation’s subsidized housing program and questioning the government’s resolve to tackle the problem.
The 33-year-old tech worker, a life-long supporter of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), moved to Thailand after her landlord raised her rent by 70 percent for a two-year lease. She plans to support the opposition in the next election.
Photo: Bloomberg
“We’re all moving out in our early 20s and now there’s this: ‘oh, just go back home’” to your parents, Sonam said from Bangkok, declining to give her last name for fear of losing her job. “The fact that they’re so unaware of what is really happening ... it’s just bizarre.”
For the PAP, solving the housing problem is crucial as the party navigates succession — Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍), son of the nation’s founding father, is preparing to hand power to the next generation of party leaders.
The party had its worst showing in the 2020 vote despite winning 89 percent of parliamentary seats, prompting Lee to say that policies must reflect the younger generation’s “significantly different life aspirations and priorities.”
Top leaders are growing concerned. The government last month announced a bold move to double the stamp duty to 60 percent for foreigners buying homes — the highest levy among major global cities — while taking other steps such as releasing more land for construction.
In a national address last week, Singaporean Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong (黃循財) — who is positioned to succeed Lee — acknowledged that prices have soared, but said incomes have kept pace.
Growing anxieties over property strike at a pillar of government policy dating back to the 1960s that has buoyed six decades of PAP rule — the provision of subsidized housing to about 80 percent of the population, giving Singapore one of the highest home ownership rates in the world.
While the Singaporean Housing and Development Board (HDB) program has won plaudits around the globe, its eligibility rules generally favor married couples over young single people such as Sonam.
The government said there was a significant surge in applications for subsidized housing, and that it has taken steps to update policies “to better meet” the diverse aspirations and needs of its population.
“We are making good progress towards getting the HDB building program back on track,” the ministry said, adding that it is overseeing about 100 projects to meet the growing demand.
Singapore has largely defied a global property slowdown as an influx of wealth from China and other countries fans the market. Home prices have jumped for 12 straight quarters.
With so many people priced out of the market, demand for rentals has soared. Rents for private apartments and public housing surged about 32 percent and 27 percent respectively last month from a year earlier, although landlords often demand more. Singapore has topped New York with the world’s fastest pace of rental growth for high-end properties.
A survey last year showed that two-thirds of Singaporeans between the ages of 22 to 29 are choosing to rent due to insufficient savings.
Belle, a Singaporean content creator renting a shared apartement, would like to see a cap on rent increases. She is also considering voting for an opposition party after previously supporting the PAP.
“We all know that Singapore is a very comfortable, reliable country to live in,” said Belle, 28, who did not want her last name used. “But it is just a little sad that it doesn’t seem like the government’s really changing its course, and there are no safeguards to managing the rental increases.”
Singapore’s subsidized housing program provides some refuge from the soaring prices. The median price of an HDB resale unit is just S$539,000 (US$406,895), compared with S$1.48 million for a private condominium, according to Cushman and Wakefield PLC.
Although popular, the apartments have strict eligibility criteria. Singaporean families and married couples generally qualify for a new HDB apartment from age 21, while single people generally are not eligible until they are 35. Same-sex couples do not get the same benefits as those in recognized marriages.
While there is little indication the PAP would lose power in a general election that must be held by November 2025, the party is sensitive to popular sentiment on bread-and-butter issues. Even a marginally poorer showing would be seen as a sign of weakness for a government that has relied on unassailable support at the polls.
Although Singapore recently passed a budget full of handouts, a majority of residents think it has not handled inflation well, according to a poll by Blackbox Research.
The government’s approach to housing costs are at the top of the grievances list. Meanwhile, a YouGov poll in December last year found that two-thirds of respondents said the government should place greater focus on housing affordability.
“The PAP still have a lot to do in terms of assuring Singaporeans that Singapore remains a very good place to live, work and to raise a family,” said Eugene Tan, a political analyst and law professor at Singapore Management University.
The soaring home prices partly stem from a broader supply shortage after construction halted during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the government has since pledged to expedite new developments, other attempts to solve the problem have been met with mixed reactions.
Opposition lawmakers were critical of a housing grant increase this year, saying it would set Singapore off on a continuous price spiral. Others complained that the policy disproportionately benefits couples. A new pilot program offering hostel-like public housing for low-income singles was likened to prisons.
Sonam would like to see the government lower the HDB age requirement for single people. A Workers’ Party lawmaker last year proposed dropping it to 28.
The housing market could soon cool as new units come online, with almost 40,000 public and private completions due this year.
Prices in the private market are expected to rise about 2 percent to 3 percent next year, only slightly higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 1.3 percent, said Wong Xian Yang, Cushman and Wakefield’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Even with the latest stamp duty increase, Sonam remains unconvinced.
“It still doesn’t take away the lack of housing,” she said. “It still doesn’t take away that our only option now is to buy a shoebox at a crazy price or rent.”
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS