SOME government policies targeted at the property market are better tweaked than left alone, MCC Land (Singapore) managing director Tan Zhiyong argued. Rather than having the intended effect of taming residential prices, Mr Tan believes that the reverse has taken place.

One example is the revised guidelines by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in early 2013 that count private enclosed spaces and private roof terraces in non-landed residential projects as gross floor area (GFA) for which development charges apply. Previously, developers could sell such free spaces for a profit.

The revision was apparently prompted by the creation and sale of super-sized penthouses in some executive condominiums (ECs) to buyers who did not appear to be from the sandwiched class - for which the hybrid public-private housing product was designed to serve. While developers profited on those free spaces, buyers ended up with a higher price quantum.