Denise Phua on public housing motions

Engineer a shift in housing demand away from mature estates by building more appealing satellite towns, providing more substantive financial and non-financial incentives to buyers, and building flats in advance to ensure that first-time applicants in particular are catered to. This call was made by MP Denise Phua in Parliament on Monday (Feb 6). She said the popularity of mature estates among buyers has led to excessive demand, longer wait times and reluctance to consider other locations. Ms Phua also called for a better balance to be struck between homeowner occupation and investment. She said the Government must have the “moral courage” to apply the principles of prime-location housing to all HDB estates and more strictly in popular locations. She also suggested making a bigger distinction between the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty that Singaporeans have to pay versus permanent residents and foreigners.