Singles' Day, housing policies and other ways to recognise contributions of singles

GET married soon and get a chance to snare a home with a sea view. With new HDB flats in the Greater Southern Waterfront in the urban plans, such thoughts may soon occupy the minds of some young Singaporeans.

Tough luck though for singles who cannot buy HDB flats in the Greater Southern Waterfront.

The issue of whether singles get a raw deal in public housing here is in the spotlight after the Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB) released details of the PLH model.

The PLH model aims to keep public housing in prime locations, such as the city centre and surrounding areas, including the Greater Southern Waterfront, affordable, accessible and inclusive for Singaporeans.

Under the model, the resale of PLH flats will be ring-fenced for buyers who meet the prevailing eligibility conditions for the purchase of three-room and larger flats directly from HDB, thus excluding groups such as singles from buying PLH flats in the resale market.

As it stands, Singapore citizens, who are single, have to be at least 35 years old to be eligible to buy a flat directly from the HDB. Under existing criteria for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, singles are allowed to buy only new two-room flats in non-mature estates. The average gross monthly household income cannot exceed S$7,000.

Two-room HDB flats may have sizes of 36 or 45 square metres, which are fairly similar to the size of some studio and one-bedroom units of new condominiums, so singles can have little to complain about.

Moreover, citizens, who are single and at least 35 years old, can buy HDB flats of larger sizes in the resale market and in prime central areas too as the rules under the PLH model do not apply to existing projects in central areas such as Pinnacle@Duxton.

Subject to certain criteria, single citizens can get housing grants for BTO or resale flat purchases.

Still, singles seeking HDB homes in central areas may have to cough up more as they will have to compete with others who are ineligible to buy resale PLH flats, such as Singapore citizen couples whose monthly household income exceeds S$14,000 or permanent resident households, for resale flats in central areas that are not under the PLH model.

Nov 11 is Singles' Day in China - an unofficial holiday and shopping season that celebrates people who are not in relationships. The holiday has become a major physical and online shopping day, where the likes of Alibaba and JD.com chalk up massive sales.

The commercial aspects of Singles' Day have made inroads in Singapore too.

Put aside the commercial aspects, it is good to set aside a day to celebrate singles just as there are Valentine's Day, Children's Day, Father's Day and Mother's Day.

Many adult singles play major roles in looking after their families, such as being caregivers to elderly parents and relatives, or being mentors and partners in bringing up nephews and nieces.

Singles may also contribute substantially to society as entrepreneurs, volunteers and tax payers.

Public housing in Singapore serves to achieve various objectives including helping to build diverse and inclusive communities, where people from different walks of life can live together, interact, and foster strong social ties. Policies are in place to support family formation, parenthood aspirations, and care across generations.

A major incentive to encourage young adults to get married and then hopefully have kids is allowing couples to buy BTO flats, which are heavily subsidised.

Still, people are getting married later and babies are hard to produce - total fertility rate per resident female in 2020 was 1.10 compared with 1.15 and 1.60 in 2010 and 2000 respectively.

National Development Minister Desmond Lee, who was speaking at the Singapore Economic Policy Forum, after the new PLH model was announced, said: "We're prioritising them, for now, for larger households who may need more space for their families," when addressing questions on why singles are not allowed to buy PLH flats.

Minister Lee said the government is "not taking a step backward" when it comes to public housing policies for singles. He also assured single Singaporeans that the government cares about their housing needs.

High income singles, who want a place of their own, can buy their dream homes in the private market on a level playing field with couples. Many new condominium projects feature numerous small-sized units, with more manageable absolute sums per unit, that may be just right for singles. There are also no restrictions on Singaporean singles buying large condo units or landed homes.

The share of singles among the resident population has been rising. Between 2010 and 2020, the proportion of singles among those aged 25-29, 30-34, and 35-39 rose from 64.0 per cent to 75.3 per cent, 30.8 per cent to 37.1 per cent, and 18.7 per cent to 20.9 per cent respectively. Among those aged 40-44 and 45-49, the proportion rose from 14.7 per cent to 16.6 per cent and 13.0 per cent to 14.7 per cent respectively.

Some may be single for a fair number of years of adulthood before getting married, while others may remain single as a matter of choice.

The housing needs of the large and rising number of single adults matter. Some may want to live on their own for reasons such as shared space with family being inadequate, wanting independence, or seeking better mental well being and a sense of self-identity.

Many may hope to buy or rent in the HDB market. This can be due to affordability or financial prudence of wanting to minimise housing expenses.

Subsidised housing is a scarce resource that needs to be carefully allocated. Still, could singles get a bigger bite of subsidised housing?

Perhaps lower the age at which singles can buy HDB flats or allow singles to buy three-room BTO flats or apply a higher income ceiling to singles who are jointly buying BTO flats.

As is, BTO flats are already typically over-subscribed, with odds of securing flats in popular estates being relatively low for couples. HDB resale flat prices have been rising, up 12.5 per cent year-on-year as at Q3 2021.

Being more generous to singles when it comes to buying HDB BTO or resale flats risks accentuating the oversubscription of new flats and price escalation of resale units.

Over the years, policies have been relaxed to help singles buy HDB flats, including the move in 2013 to allow singles to buy BTO flats.

Perhaps the government can actively engage singles with a view to refining housing policies to better meet their aspirations.

Helping more singles rent or own their own home need not detract from efforts to encourage marriage and parenthood. Having one's own place may be useful for some singles when it comes to dating. Some singles, who feel lonely while living on their own, may become more open to finding life partners.

Providing high quality affordable housing has been effective in anchoring Singaporeans to home.

Meeting housing aspirations is a challenge for singles in many cities. Let's celebrate Singles' Day by cherishing the singles in our community and giving them more help in their housing journeys.

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