Open private housing market to competition

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Aug 4, 2011
Open private housing market to competition
I THANK Mr Huang Yangxuan ("Entitlement"), Madam Koh Chin Chin ("Protect citizens") and Mr Alexs Chua ("Not quite a joke") for their letters last Saturday, as well as the Law Ministry for its reply ("Others want more, not less, curbs on foreign ownership"), in response to my letter ("Landed home values stifled by property law"; July 27).

My key point was to leave the private property market open to fair practices and competition. Regulate public housing to ensure that Singaporeans are not marginalised and penalised, but let the private property market, especially landed housing, find its own equilibrium.
Government interference may cause unintended consequences of dependency, misplaced expectations and misallocation of resources. Land in itself is no more than a piece of ground. It is what you do with it that creates value.
Fair competition allows the best ideas to create the biggest value for scarce resources. During the economic downturn from 2001 to 2005, the Singapore property market was in the doldrums and foreign interests then were hardly noticeable. I suspect that many Singaporeans were hoping for foreign investors to help boost the market and their property assets.
Furthermore, my point was to allow private housing for sale to the highest bidders, not selling out important national security or basic economic interests like public utilities, transport or defence resources.
Property, like any other economic cycle, has its peaks and troughs. In March 2009, I bought my first landed property after much planning, budgeting and saving. I am sure many, too, have benefited from the upswing in the property market, thanks to government efforts in branding Singapore superbly.
The irony is that there are many Singaporeans who speculate and own several condominium apartments, but will not purchase a landed property because of poorer valuations due to the restrictions.
Many countries are also facing challenges in managing their property landscapes due to the high liquidity available in the global system. With money, wealth and talent flowing into Asia, there is a need to align our policies to best leverage resources and concurrently meet the people's needs and aspirations. Nothing should be too sacred a policy to change.
As a father of three wonderful and bright children, I always tell them to manage their own expectations and live within their means. However, if they desire a higher standard of living and a better lifestyle, they must be prepared to work hard without expecting handouts or special privileges.
Frankie Mao
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