SINGAPORE — When it comes to housing, Singaporeans appear split on whether Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats should be treated as “homes” or assets - some want flats to be affordable and a “home” but others see it as an investment tool with some degree of asset enhancement.

These views were brought up at the first Our Singapore Conversation session on housing on Thursday evening, which was attended by 40 participants and National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

Participant Philip Lee, 36, who works in the IT industry, felt that all Singaporeans should have the opportunity to upgrade, as per a “meritocratic system”.

He said: “We ought to encourage progressive ownership of Singapore by Singaporeans, such that those who are eligible to own a HDB, can have aspirations to upgrade their homes one day in the current system of co-ownership of HDB and private property after the MOP (Minimum Occupation Period) of five years. The larger the stake, the deeper the commitment to defend the country, to work harder to contribute towards its prosperity and be proud of it.”

However, others felt that treating HDB flats as assets would lead to market speculation and further drive up prices.

Mother of one Trudy, 50, said: “To me, HDB represents affordable housing. It was meant to be a roof over people’s heads and I feel that we should keep it that way.”

Another participant, research staff Tan SA, 29, said that it was for individuals to decide “whether HDB flats should be as much of an asset as it is a home”.

“If HDB would to overly regulate whether one is able to rent out or sell on the open markets, then there is no sense of equity ownership in the flat,” he said.

At the session, Mr Khaw also addressed some concerns raised by participants — some felt land cost should not be factored into HDB construction cost, which is then filtered down to home buyers.

Mr Khaw said: “We all know that to build a property, we incur all sorts of costs...It’s easy to say that land cost should be zero as it belongs to everybody, but it’s not quite like that. You need to acquire a piece of land... reclaim a piece of land, that costs money to tax payers. And we are just trustees of taxpayers, so those costs have to be accounted for.

“Even when you have got that land prepared, land is valuable only when we invest infrastructure - roads, MRTs etc - and all those cost billions of dollars.”

He added that the HDB incurs “hundreds of millions of dollars” in losses every year as “every unit that we sell, HDB loses money”.

“Let us not perpetuate this talk that HDB is making money out of building houses, because if it was so simple, life would be straightforward, but that’s not the case,” he said.

With the supply of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats for first-timers now being ramped up, Mr Khaw also revealed that he would be looking into the housing concerns of divorcees with children and those who need to downgrade for valid reasons.

He said: “When you bought a HDB (flat), maybe your income was steady. and you thought a five-room flat is affordable. But we know that during a lifetime, many things can happen. You may lose a job, or spouse has medical problems and can no longer function... or earn as much as before. So I have a lot of sympathy for those who need to downgrade.”