By Zakir Hussain
THE housing market may be cooling, but it was a hot issue for
two veteran Kampong Chai Chee grassroots leaders who quizzed
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua on policy
changes and what they saw as shortcomings.
Residents' committee member Bernard Choo, 64, wondered if
housing authorities slipped up in planning for population growth,
leading to 'a huge housing demand chasing a very limited
supply'.
Former community centre management committee chairman Png Wee
Chor, 71, took issue with the tightening of restrictions on HDB
owners buying private property, and private property owners buying
resale HDB flats.
Both questions dominated an hour-long dialogue Mrs Lim had with
residents during her visit on Sunday to the Kampong Chai Chee ward
of East Coast GRC. Other issues raised included future plans for
the ward and amenities such as the food centre and sports
facilities.
Mrs Lim, who acknowledged that housing was an issue close to
people's hearts, used the opportunity to explain the complexities
of planning for housing demand. She noted that it was extremely
difficult to be precise about a country's future needs as trends
and preferences change.
In outlining the thinking behind the latest measures, she told
Mr Png that when the Government saw that younger couples found it
hard to get a flat, it discovered that a key obstacle was the
rising cash-over-valuation for resale flats.
