This is because buying a home is perhaps the “most complicated financial commitment” a person will ever make, says Chang Kim Loong, the secretary-general of the National House Buyers Association (HBA).
“It is not enough just to provide homes for low-income earners, who are typically first-time buyers,” he said in interview with FMT.
He said a first-time buyer would need to consider an array of factors when trying to decide whether to purchase a house or to live in a rented one.
He acknowledged that basic knowledge about home ownership was accessible to everyone, but he added that many people in the low-income group, perhaps because of lack of education, might not know how to acquire such knowledge.
He disclosed that HBA had proposed several initiatives to familiarise the public with such knowledge, starting with the establishment of a central database of all affordable housing projects being planned and developed in the country and the financing schemes available for them.
The government should spearhead these initiatives, he said.
He also urged the government as well as banks to ensure that low income households were equipped with personal financial management skills, saying the lack of such skills often left buyers vulnerable to the prospect of losing their homes.
“We recommend that a home ownership education programme be set up to raise overall financial literacy as a method to prepare low-to-medium-income households for the responsibility of owning a home so that the hard task of ensuring a home for everyone is maintained,” he said.
He suggested that information be disseminated through printed materials, websites, workshops and personal counselling sessions.
It would be ideal if personal sessions could be conducted before the signing of sale and purchase contracts, he said.
Chang also proposed that the government form an umbrella agency to coordinate the distribution of affordable housing. Currently, the development of such projects is directed by state governments.
He added that racial quotas should be abolished for affordable housing.