The housing market was a hot topic for two veteran Kampong Chai Chee grassroots leaders who questioned Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, on policy changes and what they observed as shortcomings.
Bernard Choo, a residents’ committee member, asked if housing authorities made a mistake in planning for population growth, resulting in “a huge housing demand chasing a very limited supply”.
Png Wee Chor, former chairman of the community centre management committee, opposed the tightening of restrictions on HDB owners purchasing private property and private property owners purchasing resale HDB flats.
These questions dominated an hour-long dialogue between Mrs. Lim and residents during her visit to the Kampong Chai Chee ward of East Coast GRC. Among the other issues raised were future plans for the ward and amenities like a food centre and sports facilities.
Mrs. Lim used the opportunity to explain the complexities of planning for housing demand and noted that it was very hard to be precise on the country’s future needs, as preferences and trends change.
Outlining the reasons behind the latest measures, Mrs. Lim said that when the government saw that younger couples found it difficult to get a flat, it discovered that a major obstacle was the rising cash-over-valuation for resale flats.