Restricting sale and price of resale 3-room flats won't work

The Straits Times; Published on Oct 20, 2011
Restricting sale and price of resale 3-room flats won't work
I AM dismayed by MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Zainudin Nordin's suggestion to restrict the resale of three-room flats to only low-income earners and peg resale prices to the original sales price plus the annual inflation rate ('Call to re-look pricing of new flats'; Tuesday).

Such measures, if implemented, will grossly disadvantage current as well as future three-room home owners like me. I will not be able to afford an upgrade should the need arise due to an expanding family nucleus.
As three-room flats comprise a sizeable percentage of public housing, the resale market will also be shaken up due to the limited options buyers have.
Mr Zainudin's proposal is also redundant.
In Pasir Ris, where my future home is located, the take-up rate for new two-rooms flats is alarmingly low at less than 20 per cent, even though the selection period is about to close.
This is perhaps due to stiff prices, although these flats are meant for low-income families.
If low-income owners are unable to afford new two-room flats, how would they afford resale three-room flats, whether they are at original market rate or not?
The crux of the problem lies not in resale prices, but the affordability of new flats.
Chen Xinyi (Ms)
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_725084.html
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