We moved to a system where each HDB is priced differently to reflect its real value.

In the 1960s, most Singaporeans lived in over-crowded shop houses or squatter huts. People were poor and life was hard. There was no running water, no modern toilets, no expectation of a better future.

The immediate task of the Government was to tackle this housing crisis, and build homes in the shortest time possible. It would have been easier and simpler to build simple rental one and two-room flats to give people a roof over their heads, Mr Lee said.

But right from the start, Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanted a home-owning society to give every citizen a stake in the country. Mr Lee said ownership is critical because we were an immigrant community with no common history.

"Our peoples came from many different parts of Asia. Home ownership helped to quickly forge a sense of rootedness in Singapore. It is the foundation upon which nationhood was forged."

When HDB first launced the homeownership scheme in 1964, there were many skeptics.

"We had little reserves then. Singapore was still in Malaysia. Our future looked bleak. The post-war baby boom and the high unemployment added to our pressures. Our construction industry was low in skills and lacking in building management. Few believed a home-owning Singapore was possible."

"Against the odds, through grit and determination, we housed the nation progressively and systematically.

"By the end of the 1960s, 35% of the population was living in HDB flats. By the 1980s, HDB had housed 85% of the population. Few nations have managed to house its population in such a short span of time."

"Singaporeans know that the HDB flat gives them a tangible and valuable stake. If Singapore prospers, their flat values will appreciate and they will share in the growth. Home ownership motivates Singaporeans to work hard and upgrade to better flats for a better quality of living. The HDB story reflects the social mobility in Singapore. ... The home ownership programme is the success story of Singapore, shared by all Singaporeans.

From the 1980s...

"We moved to a system where each HDB flat is priced differently to reflect its real value. We cannot price a new flat in Punggol or Tanjong Pagar the same, because when they are resold, we know there will be a tremendous difference in price. From the 1980s, we moved towards a market-based system. By liberalizing the resale market and allowing HDB prices to move in tandem with the economy, we unlocked the value of HDB flats to allow citizens to share in the fruits of the nation’s growth. Home ownership of a HDB flat is a store of value that can be monetized when needs be."

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞@𝐃𝐮𝐱𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 .. 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐃𝐁 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬.

"The Pinnacle@Duxton is a strong testament to our tenacity and capabilities as a people, to get to where we are today.

"𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡. ... 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝."

- Excerpt from Mr Lee Kuan Yew's speech
KEY HANDOVER CEREMONY FOR THE PINNACLE@DUXTON, 13 DECEMBER 2009 

Housing and state land: the Government has a duty to all Singaporeans, both current and future generations.

The Government has a duty to all Singaporeans, both current and future generations, to dispose of and account for state land at fair value. Therefore, it is necessary for HDB to acquire such land parcels at market price, and reflect that in how it prices new flats.

Pricing state land at zero value or basing the sale price of flats on average household incomes would mean that the nation’s assets are not being accounted for.

Buy a 2-room BTO and be richer by $80,000

If your household income is $1500 or less, you can still afford a new 2-rm BTO in a non-mature estate.

You enjoy a maximum Enhanced Housing Grant (EHG) of $80,000 and the result is the BTO costs from $17,000 upwards (prices from Lakeside View).

To put it clearly, you are richer by $80,000. This is money gifted to you and stays with you even if you decide to sell your BTO later.

This is $80,000 of monetary wealth distributed to you.

If you fully understand housing policies, you will appreciate them. These grants do not just make homes more affordable, they are also a form of wealth distribution with more given to those with less so that everyone can own something in this city.

Panellists at the Institute of Policy Studies' Singapore Perspectives conference in Jan this year noted that Government's policies on land help to achieve redistribution of not just the land but wealth as well.

I thank everyone for your words of encouragement yesterday. I'm very grateful and appreciative.

When this page was started, my first posts were also on housing grants.

At that time, people were lashing at then Finance Minister Tharman for saying that Singaporeans who earn $1000 could afford a BTO. People were making fun of him as well.

Falsehood was spread that you had to return the grant.

Debunking falsehoods takes time.

This is because falsehoods are sensational. They grab attention and spread easily. Truth is often boring.

There's a saying that a lie can travel halfway round the world while truth is still tying it's shoelaces.

It’s not often that we have the luxury of time to sufficiently debunk falsehoods so that they lose their sting.

It is always possible for a people to vote in anger against the government before lies and falsehoods are sufficiently exposed.

This would be the saddest thing that can happen to Singapore.

My deepest desire is that you will not just stop at reading, but that you will also share what you discover with family and friends so that together, we can help remove unhappiness that are based on falsehoods.

There's a wide range of BTOs to cater to different aspirations and budgets.

These are BTOs. No kidding.

There's a wide range of BTOs to cater to different aspirations and budgets. Hence, one cannot compare a 5-room BTO with unique features to a 5-room BTO elsewhere or in a non-mature estate.

BTOs are priced not only according to location, and amenities around them, they are also priced according to their individual features and characteristics.

Central Weave in AMK, for example, has recycling chute which makes for better, more efficient and convenient recycling, and a beautiful environment which includes the ABC (active, beautiful, clean) waters feature.

The perception that HDB is unaffordable is being perpetuated by the focus on the most expensive, high end range of new BTOs as well as a very small percentage of resale that have gone for a million dollars.

This creates anxiety for people who may not be aware that there are other choices available.

Affordability also means choosing the right size of flat that fits our budget.

Overall, affordability is seen in close to 90% of first-timer families who are able to service their home loans with their CPF, with little or no cash payments.

Central Weave, despite their high prices, is oversubscribed many times for the larger 5-room and generational flats. Clearly, many are able to afford these flats even with HDB's income ceiling eligibility criterion.

Which country in the world has produced homes for every family?

Governing Singapore is not easy because Singaporeans are a demanding lot.

They want their BTOs. They want it quick. They want it big.

But each time a forest is earmarked for housing, they accuse the government of 'development at all costs'. They also want every tree and every green.

Enough is enough, they said. Vote them out.

They think land should come at zero cost when land is so scarce and some of it did not even exist at first. The government had to create them through reclamation.

They don't like so many foreigners here. WP and PSP said if construction workers are paid well, Singaporeans will be happy to build BTOs. WP and PSP make them happy but they also want their BTOs cheap.

How to govern a people like this?

People in countries much, much larger than Singapore cannot afford to own their homes. In Singapore, even 80% of the lower income group are home owners. This is despite the acute land constraints we face.