News

I refer to the article “ ” (Jan 11). It was reported that the majority of successful appellants had already obtained an option to purchase (OTP) for a resale flat before the cooling measures took effect on Sept 30, 2022. However, there was no data on the category of appellants who had already sold their private property but had yet to obtain an OTP for a flat before the cooling measures took effect. Now that the effects of the cooling measures have had nearly half a year to work through the market, I hope the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will provide data on the number of appellants from this category of downgraders whose appeals were unsuccessful and are still renting while serving the wait-out period. If the number is small, perhaps it is time to consider waiving the remainder of the wait-out period to give them the stability and security of home ownership. Many of these former private property owners had planned to downgrade to a resale flat due to concerns about rising mortgage interest rates and the cost of living. With the new cooling measures, they have had to take on the additional financial burden of renting for 15 months in a red-hot rental market. To address valid concerns about cash-rich downgraders flocking to buy top-dollar flats, HDB could consider imposing restrictions on property size and location for them, thus minimising any impact on resale prices and ensuring that flats go only to those in genuine need of a home.