Attempting to placid the growing discontentment among the middle-income voters, Mah Bow Tan announced yesterday that he will review raising the income ceiling on new BTO flats. He told reporters that rising income and "feedback from residents, the public and other ministers" had prompted him to do so.[link]
This move also signals the following:
1. The government has conceded that middle-income Singaporeans are price out of the private property market, which is now dominated by wealthy foreign buyers. [link] For many, their only housing option now is a HDB flat.
2. The prices of new BTO flats are expected to rise further after the election, which necessitate raising the income ceiling.
