HDB suffers S$2b deficit


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stonefish35

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1015349/1/.html

HDB suffers S$2b deficit
By Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 02 November 2009 1743 hrs



SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has reported a S$2b deficit before government grants in its latest annual report.

The figure is more than double the loss reported in the previous financial year.

HDB said the huge deficit for the financial year ending March was due mainly to more flats being sold. These flats are highly subsidised by the government. Higher construction costs also led to the large deficit.

Other reasons that contributed to HDB's loss include upgrading works for lifts and rental flats.

Between April last year and March this year, HDB pushed out 8,000 flats under its Build-To-Order Scheme. That's 2,000 more than what it supplied the year before.

At a media briefing on its latest annual report, HDB also gave an update on the Lease Buyback Scheme which allows low-income elderly Singaporeans to get a portion of cash upfront while HDB buys back the tail-end of the lease of their flat.

HDB has received more than 400 applications since the scheme was launched earlier this year.

Some 25,000 households are eligible for the scheme.

But the elderly have other options to monetise their flats.

HDB's CEO, Tay Kim Poh, said: "Some of them will sublet their entire flat, and the rental for even a three-room flat is very good nowadays. They can easily get $1,500 per month from the rental and they move in to stay with their children (after renting out their flat)."

Despite the global downturn, HDB said the mortgage arrears rate has dropped 0.4 percentage point to 7.5 percent.

Market watchers said this may be due to the high resale prices of HDB flats.

Eugene Lim, associate director of ERA Asia Pacific, said: "So there was an upswing in the market since the beginning of this year. And what happens is that those households in arrears probably made use of this opportunity to sell their flat and downgrade to a flat that they can afford."

Moving forward, HDB said it will focus on improving community relations. A new department has been set up within the housing board to look at strengthening social cohesion and integrating newcomers.

- CNA/ir
 

As highly debated,
Market price - $X = subsidy ?
I thought the real subsidy will be = Cost price - $X ?

Even with the so call " highly subsidised" market price less cost, there is still a tidy profit per flat, excluding interest charges on the HDB loan taken, which will contribute to HDB's coffers even more.

Which makes me wonders, how the hell did HDB arrive at the S$2B loss. I doubt they will be transparent in this.

And how the hell the statistics for lower passenger ridership for public transport come about when everyday, alot of us are still sandwiched like a sardine on the trains and buses ?? When the transport companies claiming to have increased the frequencies of trains,buses etc

Pls do not turn this into a political bashing. Lets have a healthy discussion here, lest thread gets locked.
 

Wah lao!! U believe ah? Read an article from Straits Times last yr, some construction engineer wrote in to say why HDB flats so exp. He broke down the cost to show how much its to build a block of flat & HDB actually earns more than 2x the cost by selling it $220k per 4 room. Mind u this price is for an ulu estate, those matured redevelop estate is above 400k.

On top of that profit, they loan u money & u pay interest for 20 - 30yrs, another big income for them. My 3 rm flat 11yrs loan already choked up 50k interest liao. :complain:

Mr Mah still say "U people have to be realistic, HDB flats r heavily subsidised by govt...." If anyone rem the recent news not too long ago :ipuke:
 

thats funny... hdb dun have to pay anything for the land and they are making a loss... wonder how all those developers out there who still have to bid for the land make a living with land cost the most costly component...
 

HDB employ too many staff liao la... just look at the resale officer so many and yet so slow in their work. Unproductive !!!
 

Well, I never believed that statement. I would think its more of a typo. Its S$2 B profit.

The cost of each flat had been worked out many times by different pple, and proved to be much much lower than the price that was sold.

The loss came about probably, after charging the HDB staff cost :bsmilie:
 

HDB employ too many staff liao la... just look at the resale officer so many and yet so slow in their work. Unproductive !!!

Can't blame them. One of the role of govt is to create jobs. But 2B loss from HDB is absurd. Like flowerpot said, they dun even pay for land...

Well, its a smoke screen to cover up the heavy losses from u know who & where. The name so evil that i can't speak of it in open... :sweat:
 

1 sentence to sum up the reason of the surge in HDB price. The shift from cost - $X to mkt price - $X.
 

many many years ago, if that statement was made i might just take it... since my mum 4R is dirt cheap when she got it... now with our dear Mr Mah leading the way... its all about money making...

i dun care what u claim, show me the numbers to prove it... simple as that...

i just dun understand garment ppl... maybe they think we are stupid... i still remember years some captain claim there is not such thing as white horse in NS on TV :bsmilie:
 

i just dun understand garment ppl... maybe they think we are stupid... i still remember years some captain claim there is not such thing as white horse in NS on TV :bsmilie:

Not stupid, juz hands tied. They can slap u left right center & u can't do anything about it :thumbsd:
 

I am speechless......
Where all the money have gone to....:dunno:

Does it mean, in the early 80s or even 90s, they are making more losses when housing is relatively cheaper.....:confused:
 

obviously all of you do not understand HDBconomics.

HDB is actually in the business of LOSING MONEY to fund rises in cash over valuations, HDB resellers' asset enhancement and tidy profits, altruistic lift upgrading, and keeping the jobs market buoyant.

It's high time they are registered and honoured as a Charity Organization.

:thumbsup:
 

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Can't blame them. One of the role of govt is to create jobs. But 2B loss from HDB is absurd. Like flowerpot said, they dun even pay for land...

Well, its a smoke screen to cover up the heavy losses from u know who & where. The name so evil that i can't speak of it in open... :sweat:

Haha, nice one.
 

Maybe the deficit all go to bonuses? Think HDB's over staffed la
 

I wonder how the cost the building more flats could roll into deficit when the economy is down and prices of goods and services are depressed by recession. :dunno:
 

Hmm, this report don't make much sense... there was one about the true cost of building HDB flats on another site.....

So they are saying the sales price of flats are very cheap? BTW public housing should not be making money in the first place...

The reason why more flats are build are due to the influx for FTs.... If not with our small population this would not have been an issue.

we have more than 1 million FTs in Singapore.... our population grew from 3+mill to 5mill. That why they have to build more to house all these people. Now the deficit should be blamed on themselves. But who would be the ones suffering when things like these happen..
 

publishing these figures i dunno what they are trying to prove...

firstly the numbers are not very convincing... unless they can be transparent on how they do the calculations...

secondly, even if its true deficit... then my question is, isn't all these instituition, government bodies etc, suppose to have deficit ? or money making ? their role is to help the nation, administer the nation needs, help it grow, protect and manage etc etc...not earn from the the nation...

do we expect MOE to make money ? do we expect MOH to make money ? do we expect or SAF to make money ? our police force to make money ? LTA to make money ?

all these instituition and government bodies are here to help govern our country, providing a better, safer place to stay, education, to grow etc etc...

whatever they spend is tax payers money, its just returning back to us what we give them...

its like publishing annual financial report on how much money they made/loss...

come on... all these instituition are not companies... they are there for a purpose... serve that purpose... simple as that...
 

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