1 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: The Singapore of today, the one featured in Crazy Rich Asians, 2 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: with its luxury shopping malls, mansions and an airport complete 3 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: with a butterfly garden and a movie theater. That's a 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:23,439 Speaker 1: relatively new phenomenon. Less than sixty years ago, Singapore was 5 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: newly independent and incredibly poor. Three quarters of the city's 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: population lived in overcrowded slums without electricity or proper sanitation. 7 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: The environment was extremely bad. Just to prove it to you, 8 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: you could actually blindfold yourself and you know you're at 9 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: Singapore River. Why it could smell in Singapore River. That's 10 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: the Singapore we will indose states. That's Low Tiker, and 11 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: he's one of the main reasons the city is so 12 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,959 Speaker 1: different today. People call him the architect of modern Singapore. 13 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: Lou always had dreams of bettering his circumstances and those 14 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,320 Speaker 1: of the city he grew up in. At a young age, 15 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: he decided to study architecture so he could one day 16 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: help build up Singapore. His studies took him to Australia, 17 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: then Yale, and then to New York, where he worked 18 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: for the famed architect I. M. P. Then he got 19 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,119 Speaker 1: the opportunity he had been preparing for In nineteen sixty nine, 20 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: Louis asked to come back to Singapore to join its 21 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: recently established Housing Development Board, or the HDB. Its goal 22 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: was to improve the city's housing conditions, and the Government 23 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 1: of Singapore decided, if we want to have a sustainable 24 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: city compatible with all the other larger countries, we must 25 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: achieve excellence. And one of the signs of removing backwardness 26 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: is to remove the squats and house everybody in housing. 27 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: But it was about more than just putting a decent 28 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,559 Speaker 1: roof over people's heads. Singapore is a tiny island state 29 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: with no agricultural industry. Singapore's key resource is its people, 30 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: so the government wanted to make Singapore somewhere people wanted 31 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: to live and stay, a place they were invested in. 32 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: When you own your own properties, then you feel that 33 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: you have taken root in the society. And I also 34 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: want to defend on the one to defend for the 35 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: survival of the country. On the hand is to help 36 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,679 Speaker 1: build the economy of the country, and it went even 37 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,239 Speaker 1: further than that. The government also felt that if it 38 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: met people's basic needs housing, education, health care, then they'd 39 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,640 Speaker 1: be able to thrive and in turn help Singapore's economy grow. 40 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: Within a few years, more than four hundred thousand people 41 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: were living in h GB rentals. Singapore must be one 42 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: of the few places is in the world where a 43 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: statutory board satisfactorily completed everything is set out to do 44 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: in its first five year plan. Then in nineteen sixty four, 45 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: the government want a step further and began to allow 46 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: to encourage even lower middle income citizens to buy their 47 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: apartments at prices well below market rates. After five years, 48 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: they could sell them on the open market. That program 49 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: allowed many Singaporeans to make a lot of money. If 50 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: you bought an HDB apartment and sold it twenty five 51 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: years later, you'd have made your money back more than 52 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: ten times over. Today, Singaporeans expect to own their homes. 53 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: Almost of the population does, and eventually to sell them 54 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: at a profit. With one sweeping policy, Singapore had managed 55 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: to ensure that the vast majority of its population had 56 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: a clean, modern place to live, and it had boosted 57 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: its economy. Singapore is now one of the richest countries 58 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: per capita in the world. Then the pandemic ushered in 59 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: Singapore's worst ever recession, and median household income fell for 60 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: the first time in a decade, and while Singapore did 61 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: a pretty good job containing the virus, the pandemic brought 62 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: havoc to the city's carefully controlled real estate market. The 63 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,040 Speaker 1: economy shrank, but home prices continued to rise. The average 64 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 1: private property now costs about fifteen times median household earnings. 65 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: That's higher than New York, London or San Francisco. I 66 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: do worry that nowadays the public housing presses is really 67 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: a business venture then actually solving the housing need. I 68 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: feel that the implication may not be very good for 69 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: the economic development of Singapore. Jobless claims coming in, I 70 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: mean really jumping from the week before, pretty brutal, three 71 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: point to a million record six point six million Americans 72 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: filed for unemployment last week. Indian working women, but the 73 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: worst impact did the pandemic. Prices of public housing. We 74 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: sail flats have hit an old time high in the 75 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: first quarter of the year. Well now to the billionaire boom. 76 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: According to Bloomberg, super yacht charters are up over three 77 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: d and a billionaire was created every twenty six hours 78 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: during this pandemic. It is time for a wealth tax 79 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: in America. Welcome back to the paycheck. I'm Rebecca Greenfield. 80 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: By many accounts, Singapore is a pandemic and an inequality 81 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:40,479 Speaker 1: success story. The country kept its COVID death rates relatively low, 82 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: and it's a rich country where many people live relatively comfortably. 83 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: But as we've learned this season, no place can fully 84 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,600 Speaker 1: insulate itself from the effects of a pandemic, and Singapore 85 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: felt huge economic shocks that have hit its core affordable 86 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 1: housing super hard. Like in many big cities around the world, 87 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: demand for housing spiked during the pandemic. People were reevaluating 88 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,600 Speaker 1: their life choices and the homes they were suddenly spending 89 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: way more time in, and they were enjoying record low 90 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: interest rates. As a result, Singapore is becoming more and 91 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,840 Speaker 1: more stratified, and that's left its citizens starting to question 92 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: whether the city's wildly successful housing experiment is still working 93 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: for them. In the election, the ruling People's Action Party 94 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: suffered its worst parliamentary results and more than sixty years 95 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,280 Speaker 1: of unbroken rule. Observers blamed the outcome on younger voters, 96 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,840 Speaker 1: and they're growing fears about inequality. They worry they can't 97 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: match the economic advancement their parents enjoyed. If the problem 98 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: remains unresolved. Singapore is at risk of losing its only resource, 99 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: It's people. My colleague Forest Moctar grew up in Singapore 100 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:55,560 Speaker 1: and has worked as a reporter there for the past 101 00:06:55,760 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: ten years. Here he is with the story. For most 102 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: people in Singapore, home is an HTB apartment like the 103 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: one I'm standing outside right now. I grew up in 104 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: one of these government built units, and my parents still 105 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: live in one today. They're usually found in high rise 106 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: blocks on clean tree line streets, and the largest are 107 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: big enough for a family of five like mine. The 108 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: blocks look pretty unremarkable to anyone familiar with public housing, 109 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: but they have a couple of uniquely Singaporean features. Here 110 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,559 Speaker 1: on the ground floor, there's an open sheltered space called 111 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: the Void Deck. It's a shady communal gathering place out 112 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: of the equatorial sunshine, and you will sometimes even see 113 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:50,559 Speaker 1: weddings and funerals held here. Inside newer flats, you'll often 114 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: find a built in bomb shelter. That's the worst case 115 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: preparation measure, just in case the city is ever under attack, 116 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: but mostly they just yet used as extra storage space. 117 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: I have friends who is there as walking wardrobes or 118 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: even makeshift wine salist and like almost everything in Singapore, 119 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: HDB flats have been meticulously planned. I was very and 120 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: viewers of the old cities in the West in Europe 121 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: particularly and also Manhattan. That's Liu Tiger again, the architect 122 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: of modern Singapore. So I wanted Singapore to be as 123 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: good as those and the second or strain as a planner, 124 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: so I want to make sure that Singapore functions well. 125 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: Liu and the HDB agency took into account everything from 126 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 1: the facilities available in each neighborhood to even the amount 127 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:49,839 Speaker 1: of light that was needed. When there's no no good lighting, 128 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 1: people are in a bad wood and therefore they tend 129 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: to fight more. So all this things have been built 130 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: into the hardware from the get go. The founding leaders 131 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: of Singapore determined that housing and home ownership would be 132 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: one of the city state's core payless and for their 133 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 1: kids it has been. But as prices keep going up, 134 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: not everyone is convinced the government's plan is still working 135 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: for everyone. Obviously, people need a place to live, right, 136 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: they desire good places, high quality places to live, but 137 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,680 Speaker 1: they should focus on it as a good, not an asset. 138 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: That's Christopher g He's a senior researcher at a Singapore 139 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: think tank called the Institute of Policy Studies has been 140 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: looking at the city's approach to housing for the last decade. 141 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: If you encourage that idea that it is an asset 142 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: and people can speculate to grow wealthy, then it kind 143 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,200 Speaker 1: almost ends up in as your some game. But if 144 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: people think a plant, this is a good right, then 145 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,960 Speaker 1: we do get good out of it. It's for your consumption. 146 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: You should buy it, utilize it for what it is 147 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: worth to you, not to think that, okay, you can 148 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: flog it onto somebody else at a higher price. What 149 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,679 Speaker 1: he's saying is that increasing property prices are a zero 150 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: sum game because it would be buyas lose out, even 151 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: as existing homeowners see their wealth grow. In other words, 152 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 1: the system can lead to inequality, and Singapore's government worries 153 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: about inequality, which can have a corrosive effect on social 154 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: cohesion and can even drive social unrest. Inequality is an 155 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: issue that affects people's trust in each other. If there 156 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: is a big difference in someone's lived experience, someone's opportunities, 157 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,959 Speaker 1: it's harder for you to understand and put yourself into 158 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,719 Speaker 1: the position of the other. It also strikes into the 159 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: social compact. It strikes against the Singapole pledge right. We 160 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: pledge ourselves to developer adjusting equal society, and I think 161 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:17,640 Speaker 1: if we don't hold that, then there's something problematic. Singapore's 162 00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: reaches residents wouldn't blink at sucking out millions for a 163 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: new pad, but soaring property prices, even for government built apartments, 164 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: have become a real concern for many ordinary people. Even 165 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: a relatively simple four bedroom public unit can go for 166 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: more than four hundred thousand Singapore dollars, which is about 167 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 1: two D nine U S dollars. An apartment in a 168 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,840 Speaker 1: prime location can fetch more than three times that amount, 169 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: and in Singapore's carefully planned housing market, things are even 170 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: more complicated. For younger would be biased under thirty five 171 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:59,079 Speaker 1: don't qualify for subsidized HDB apartments known as built to 172 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: order units or b t o s unless they are married. 173 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: Abishak Rabbi Christian is one of those ordinary Singaportians who's 174 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 1: worried by rising prices. I think it's a huge problem 175 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,839 Speaker 1: the affordability. It's public housing, after all, but it doesn't 176 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:17,559 Speaker 1: match up to the price. What you're paying for it's 177 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 1: not the paying field, but when public housing is meant 178 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: to be more accessible to the public, so affordability is 179 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: definitely a huge issue for me personally. Other Shack is 180 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,800 Speaker 1: thirty three years old, a young professional who doesn't yet 181 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: have a family to worry about. It's a long way 182 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:36,079 Speaker 1: from the bottom of singapore social economic ladder. Even so, 183 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: his hopes of buying a property as an investment are dimming. 184 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: We've all grown up with their mindset. But to me, 185 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: I think exchanged over time after seeing what's happened, especially 186 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 1: with the increased prices of public housing, which I essentially 187 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: meant for the public, but the prices have gone up 188 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,440 Speaker 1: because you're allowed to flip it around. Obviously, property can 189 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: be an asset, but for some one whose middle income 190 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: or lower mill income, I don't think it's a viable 191 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,079 Speaker 1: means of profity. Abishay is well aware of the benefits 192 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,559 Speaker 1: that the country has already seen as a result of 193 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,079 Speaker 1: these policies, but he's also resigned to the fact that 194 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: he's unlikely to experience the same social uplift as previous 195 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,559 Speaker 1: generations have enjoyed. At that point. The seventies and eighties 196 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: decisions will meet with that generation in mind and how 197 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:29,960 Speaker 1: to move them forward. And obviously it's helped singapore development 198 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: and growth over the last forty years has been phenomenal, 199 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: so I don't think there's resentment to it. But right 200 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 1: now the middle incomes getting squashed because it's very difficult 201 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,000 Speaker 1: to break out of that cycle. The pandemic showed Abish 202 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,319 Speaker 1: just how deep the divide between rich and poor can be. 203 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,120 Speaker 1: For him, the real question is not just how Singapore 204 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:53,319 Speaker 1: managers is housing supply, it's whether everyday people still have 205 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:58,199 Speaker 1: the opportunity to thrive. I questioned the level of meritocracy. 206 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,599 Speaker 1: I've always questioned it, but because obviously we're living in 207 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: the real world where connections, knowing people having strong networks, 208 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: having come from different backgrounds, or having your background might 209 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,199 Speaker 1: determine where you're gonna end up. So I don't personally 210 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:17,439 Speaker 1: believe that Singapore is society that's based completely on meritocracy. 211 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: For me, personally, housing is I want to build a 212 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: home for myself and a place where I can come 213 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: back to and I feel a sense of belonging, So 214 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 1: not only the actual property itself, but the surroundings as well. 215 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: And that's a bit idealistic. On my part, but it 216 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:35,760 Speaker 1: has to be a place that means something to me, 217 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: like carb shaped. Julian too, is in her early thirties 218 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: with the career and no family yet. COVID was one 219 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: of the forces that prompted her to think about buying 220 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: her own home. With the pandemic, it was a catalyst 221 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 1: for a lot of people like myself to move out 222 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: of their parental homes, and from there actually realized that 223 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: I really enjoy living on my own. I really wanted 224 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: to have a place that I could do it myself 225 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: and really call a home of my own, rather than 226 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,760 Speaker 1: her sprinting. Even though she got some help from her 227 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: parents to make the purchase, surging prices were still a consideration. 228 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: If I wasn't fortunate enough to her parents who were 229 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: able to help me, I would have to wait until 230 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,960 Speaker 1: a thirty five to buy an HDB and that's just 231 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: just as really unfortunate, right. She's still confident that she 232 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 1: will make a profit on her purchase eventually, though a 233 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: smaller one than previous generations could have expected. So my 234 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: parents they were able to nine x their original investment 235 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: in the house. My sister about ten eleven years ago, 236 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 1: she was able to double it, and I'm seeing that 237 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,960 Speaker 1: decrease over time. For sure. Personally, I would see it 238 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: as a home and a long term assat. I have 239 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,360 Speaker 1: a couple of friends who have bought b t O 240 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: s and they're hoping to flip it up after five 241 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: to six years. I'm not looking to do that sort 242 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: of flipping, not at least for the next eight to 243 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: ten years. I think it's all about the horizon that 244 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: you have in mind. I do think that it will 245 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: so be profitable and houses will only continue to go 246 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: up in price. Joline's views aren't unusual. As long as 247 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:21,359 Speaker 1: housing behaves like an investment asset, it's all but inevitable 248 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: that many people will continue to treat it like one. 249 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: But whether you see housing as an investment like Joline 250 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: or as more of a consumer good like Abishaik, affordability 251 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: is an issue that's hard to ignore. It's an issue 252 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: I'm very familiar with myself. I'm thirty three years old, 253 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,720 Speaker 1: and in twenty twenty I did start thinking about purchasing 254 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: my first property. To my surprise, prices skyrocketed despite the 255 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: pandemic and the recession. I abandoned my plans, and I 256 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: wonder now whether I missed the boat. When my parents 257 00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: sold our five bed fled in two thousand and one, 258 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 1: we moved into a smaller unit, and they made a 259 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: big enough profit to buy the latest Nissan and to 260 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:09,400 Speaker 1: top up their savings account too. I know that kind 261 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 1: of return is a way out of reach for me now. 262 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: I get asked every now and then do I plan 263 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: to buy an apartment. I'm too young to get an 264 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,920 Speaker 1: HDB as an unmarried person, and I'm not going to 265 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: get married just so I can buy one. Finding a 266 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: girlfriend is a long enough process. Rising housing prices also 267 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: scare me. Let's say, if my future wife wants to 268 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: buy a home, maybe we'll do it. If I'm on 269 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: my own, I might stick with renting and put my 270 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 1: capital into stocks, cryptocurrency or are the investments. When I 271 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: reached out to the National Development Ministry to comment for 272 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 1: this story, a spokesperson said that HTB flats are primarily 273 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: intended as a home for their owners to live in, 274 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:04,119 Speaker 1: as well as being a good store value for the 275 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: owner's retirement. That's in line with the ruling party's message 276 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: about the property market. Since it faced unhappy voters during 277 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: the first year of the pandemic well. The ruling People's 278 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: Action Party has won every election since independence, and opposition 279 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,440 Speaker 1: politicians say the city's election rules make it very hard 280 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: for anyone else to win. The government is still very 281 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 1: sensitive to signs that its popularity is slipping. About six 282 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 1: months ago, it rolled out title loan limits and additional 283 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: property taxes on second homes, the latest of several rounds 284 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 1: of measures designed to cool house prices. It also announced 285 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,880 Speaker 1: it will increase the supply of housing, but it may 286 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,640 Speaker 1: well take more than these measures to change singaporeans attitudes 287 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 1: to real estate. Paul Tumbaya, who is chairman of the 288 00:18:56,119 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: opposition Singapore Democratic Party, says it's high time property was 289 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: handled more like a consumer good. Again, housing does not 290 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:07,679 Speaker 1: actually enable anybody to move up the social letter unless 291 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: you have a rich father or mother. The vast majority 292 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 1: of Singapore is more than eight percent of them own 293 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: only a single property, the one in which they live. 294 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,679 Speaker 1: So sure, if the value of this property rises, they 295 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 1: could be tremendously wealthy if they sell the property, But 296 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: then where are they going to live? The original goals 297 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: of public housing in Singapore were very good and very noble. 298 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: The idea is that you provide a safe roof over 299 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 1: people's head, You provide them with electricity, with clean water, 300 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: and so they can use their savings for other things, 301 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 1: for other far more productive investments. So I think that's 302 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,680 Speaker 1: where housing needs to go back to to provide for 303 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 1: a roof over the heads of the bulk of the 304 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:49,840 Speaker 1: population is calling for an overhaul of the city's housing model. 305 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 1: In the early days, you could only sell your HDB 306 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: flat back to the HDB and then the government will 307 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,640 Speaker 1: put it into the general pool of property that's available 308 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: and then somebody could buy it after that. This would 309 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:03,960 Speaker 1: be too drastic a step to put in it one 310 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: fell swoop. So we've suggested that a certain portion of 311 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,040 Speaker 1: the housing stopped being non open market, so there would 312 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: be open market flights which could be sold on the 313 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: open market, and the non open market flights which would 314 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:19,440 Speaker 1: have to go back to the HDB. And it's it's 315 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 1: not going to be easy and people are going to 316 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 1: have to come to terms with the idea of flipping 317 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 1: property is not the solution, but I think that's more realistic. 318 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,640 Speaker 1: Paul's ideas aren't the only ones in the mix right now. Well, 319 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: Singapore grapples with keeping housing affordable. Some observers even suggest 320 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,200 Speaker 1: Singapore should move away from its home ownership model and 321 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:44,159 Speaker 1: instead encourage renting, which is more common in places like 322 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: Germany or Japan. The pandemic force people around the world 323 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: to think hard about how and where they were living. 324 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,680 Speaker 1: In Singapore, where home ownership has become a cornerstone of 325 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: national identity and a key indicator of well being. It 326 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,920 Speaker 1: wrought simmering concerns about wealth disparity to the foe for 327 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: young people, in particular, calls for housing to be treated 328 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 1: as a good and not an investment asset. Maybe a 329 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:16,240 Speaker 1: signal that Singapore's original housing experiment is getting closer to 330 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: having run its course. It's the success story that our 331 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: parents generation have been able to use to upgrade themselves. 332 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: So it's hard and for the government to now do 333 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: a reverse you turn and say that you know, we're 334 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:32,680 Speaker 1: going to shift to a different model, it would be 335 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: very difficult and perhaps politically unpopular. People are going to 336 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 1: be upset, right, but I think they can get over it. 337 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:42,880 Speaker 1: They can't be their parents. I don't think they want 338 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: to be their parents. Singapore shows that a country can 339 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:58,479 Speaker 1: drastically change its economic fortunes. It can also just as 340 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: easily backslide. It takes the right mix of policies, interventions, 341 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:08,159 Speaker 1: and resources, but poverty and inequality are not foregone conclusions. 342 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,159 Speaker 1: Next week, on our final episode of this season of 343 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 1: The Paycheck, we had to a utopia of economic equality 344 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: to see if there are lessons to be learned for 345 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,159 Speaker 1: the rest of the world. The objective of the cooperative 346 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,320 Speaker 1: is not to produce rich people, is to produce rich societies. 347 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:29,480 Speaker 1: At the end of the day, even if you are 348 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,639 Speaker 1: not rich, if you belong to a rich society, you 349 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 1: will be happy. Thanks for listening to The Paycheck. This 350 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: episode originally said that Singapore has no manufacturing sector. We've 351 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,399 Speaker 1: corrected the error as the category now accounts for of 352 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,440 Speaker 1: its GDP. If you like our show, please head on 353 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,200 Speaker 1: over to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts 354 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: to rate, review and subscribe. This episode was hosted by 355 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: Me Rebecca Greenfield and reported by Forest mock Tar. It 356 00:22:57,119 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: was edited by Ellis McDonald and Janet Paskin, with help 357 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 1: from Francesca Levi, Racksheta Soluja and me. We also had 358 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: editing help from Daniel Balby, Shelley Banjo, Christin B. Brown, 359 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: Gilda to Carly, Nicole Flato, and Kai Schultz. This episode 360 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: was produced by Gilda to Carly and sound engineered by 361 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 1: Matt kim Our. Original music is by Leo Sidron. Special 362 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 1: thanks to Magnus Hendrickson, We Get Into Kayper, Margaret Sutherland, 363 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,680 Speaker 1: and Stacy Wong. Francesca Levi is Bloomberg's Head of Podcasts. 364 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 1: See you next week.