Lowering land costs in order to cut new HDB flat prices is equivalent to raiding Singapore’s reserves, according to Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan.
This is because the Chief Valuer sets the price for all land sold and the proceeds of the sales go into the reserves.
In the latest round on the sizzling housing issue, Mr. Mah emphasised that since the number of new HDB flats is not small, reducing prices will certainly affect the value of existing HDB flats.
Mr. Mah’s statement came in response to a call from Workers’ Party Chief Low Thia Khiang, who had proposed that if the Government was prepared to raise less money for land sales, the savings could be passed on to first-time home buyers.
“When he says that I’m going to finance this by lowering the value of land, basically what he’s doing is taking money from the reserves,” said Mr. Mah.
“It is not a matter of left pocket to right pocket, it’s a matter of taking, dipping into the reserves.”
Mr. Mah has also rejected a debate with the National Solitary Party, which has announced it is contesting the GRC. He believed there is “nothing to debate”, as his positions on various policies and housing are well known.