Rising property prices to get airing in the House

Source : Straits Times – 12 Sep 2009

THE red-hot property market in Singapore will come under scrutiny on Monday when Parliament sits.At least two MPs – Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) and Ms Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC) – have put in questions on the impact of rising property prices.

Madam Ho is worried that the buying frenzy could result in a property bubble. She told The Straits Times yesterday: ‘If you look at what is happening in Singapore today, everybody is happily going shopping for property. Nobody seems to have concerns that there might be a risk in just going forward like that. It’s very much like what happened in the United States before the sub-prime crisis.’

Ms Tan is concerned about how the price spike may affect affordability.

With HDB prices also rising, many have asked if the income ceiling for government housing grants could be raised. Now, any household earning more than $8,000 a month does not qualify for a grant when buying a resale flat.

Ms Tan is bringing up the issue in Parliament, asking when the income ceiling was last reviewed. The property boom, coming amid a global economic crisis, has caught the eye of many, including those in the Government.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan had said in July that signs of speculation were reappearing. He stressed that the Government would monitor the situation closely.

Property aside, a wide range of domestic issues will also be discussed in the House, from the Formula One race in the last weekend of this month to hotels that provide rooms at hourly rates.

Nominated MP Calvin Cheng wants to know if the period the roads are closed for the race could be shortened. In Monaco, roads are closed for only a few hours before each session, he added.

Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) wants to know if the Government would consider tightening the rules for hourly rated hotels. He sees a worrying trend of such hotels – which typically attract activities such as prostitution – creeping out of the red- light districts.

He told The Straits Times: ‘I have been getting feedback from constituents who are seeing an increase in vice activities beyond the conventional boundaries of Geylang. One way to address this is to clamp down on hourly rated hotels.’ He is raising it as ‘a possible solution and would like to see what the Government has to say’.

On Monday, three Bills tabled during the last sitting will also be debated – the Private Education Bill, the Copyright (Amendment) Bill and the Casino Control (Amendment) Bill.

The Private Education Bill seeks to tighten controls on private educational institutions. Several have closed, leaving thousands of students stranded, with many unable to recover their fees.

The casino Bill will impose stiffer penalties on those giving incorrect tax returns on gaming revenue, while the copyright Bill will widen the scope of the Copyright Tribunal for resolving rows between owners and users of copyrighted material.