Housing finance for the ageing Singapore population : The potential of creative housing finance schemes

A previous paper which relates to the above topic1 briefly surveyed the current housing situation in Singapore to highlight the predicaments which beset the elderly. After a review of Home Equity Conversion Scheme (HECS) within the socioeconomic and cultural milieu of Singapore, it was concluded that the sale-leaseback scheme, if promulgated by the Singapore Housing and Development Board, could be the panacea for the housing-finance problem of the elderly. This paper continues the discussion by reviewing Creative Housing Finance Schemes (CHFS) in the light of the socio-economic and cultural parameters co-existing in Singapore. Whereas HECS seeks to resolve the housing-finance predicament of the elderly who stay put, CHFS seek to resolve the housing-finance problem for the elderly who move or want to move into a new house which is purpose-built for the elderly. The paper concludes that saleability of homes of the elderly is the main impediment to the successful implementation of both HECS and CHFS. The problem could, however, be resolved through government intervention.