Sunday Times on the Gillman Heights En Bloc sale

The comments of three former owners of the HUDC estate at Gillman heights caught my attention. They are all at least somewhat worse off because they sold their apartment in a rising market. They would be patting themselves in the back if it had been a falling market. The committee that led them were ignorant and Capital Land behaved astutely in a commercial fashion. Indeed what you do not know can hurt you. People are so lazy. Just because they have no more exams to take, diplomas to collect they stop educating themselves. The world moves on and their ignorance is somebody's profit opportunity. This is how the market works. It is disciplinary.

Mrs Saw Yock Kee, 57 
Insurance agency leader, married with one son, 30, and one daughter, 21

Former home: Gillman Heights, 2,000 sq ft ground-floor unit bought for about $650,000 in 2000

En bloc sale price: $870,000

Now living in: 1,600 sq ft high- floor unit at Lakeholmz condo in Jurong, bought for about $900,000

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I'm not against the idea of an en bloc (sale), since I understand Singapore is a small country. But I wish that more protection was given to minority owners to ensure they don't suffer a (reduced) quality of life when they are forced to move.

I wish I had the foresight to invest in another place early. By the time we received the funds from the sale, the money was not enough for us to buy a new home in the same location.

Mr Alan Chow, 67 
Retiree, married with two children

Former home: Gillman Heights, 1,700 sq ft unit bought for about $300,000 in 1985 when it was first launched for sale.

En bloc sale price: $870,000

Now living in: 1,100 sq ft five-room HDB flat in Tiong Bahru bought for more than $600,000

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Is our life better now?

I'd say we did not feel like we got a fair deal, as most of us have had to downgrade our homes. For those who are younger, they are better equipped to buy new homes with similar attributes. For people like us who have already retired, it's not really an option.

There's a group of 20 to 30 of us, old neighbours, who have dispersed all over the island in our new homes.

We do regularly meet, about once a month, for coffee. We no longer hang out at the coffee shops in the vicinity of Gillman Heights. Sometimes we meet at the McDonald's at West Coast to chat about everything, just like in the old days.'

Sale created economic value, but at what cost?

Mr Harish Pillay, 51
IT consultant, married with two sons, 11 and 13

Former home: Gillman Heights, 1,800 sq ft mid-floor unit bought for about $430,000 in 1992

En bloc sale price: $870,000

Now living in: 2,200 sq ft penthouse at Carabelle condo in West Coast, bought for more than $1 million

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Sure, the en bloc created economic value, but at what cost? It destroyed perfectly good buildings. My family would have been happy to continue living at Gillman. Maybe we could have done some upgrading work to the estate.

My boys were excited to move into a new place, but they often mention that they want to return to Gillman. After all, it's a place that holds fond memories for us.'