Special Housing Grant applications surge?

We refer to the article “Applications surge after housing grant is extended” (Straits Times, May 11).

Only 1,010 households received the grants in 22 months?

It states that “From March 2011 till the end of 2012, just 1,010 households received the grant.”

Since there were as much as 27,000 BTO flats for application per year in recent years – let’s estimate and assume that there were about 50,000 applications for the 22-month period.

Accordingly, does it mean that only about 2% of HDB BTO flat buyers were eligible for this special housing grant?

$1,000 can buy HDB flat?

Just like the infamous “$1,000 household income can buy a HDB flat … HDB flats are affordable” – until now we believe the statistics as to how many $1,000 or less households have bought HDB flats and the percentage of $1,000 or less households who still own HDB flats which they bought when they were $1,000 or less households – have still not been disclosed?

Surge in applications because … get just $5,000 grant?

As to the surge in households getting the special grant because the household income eligibility has been raised to $6,500 – guess how much is the grant for household income between $6,001 and $6,500 – an additional paltry $5,000 to help you buy a hundred plus to a few hundred thousand dollars 4, 3 or 2-room flat!

We wonder how many flats had or will have their prices increased by $5,000 or more, in recent months and in the future?

So much for yet another statistic to sing the song that HDB flats are affordable!

SY Lee and Leong Sze Hian